Reunion
by Illidan the Half Demon
Summary: Several months have passed since the defeat of The Thirteen. Iya and Lilly find themselves on a trip to the village that Lilly once called home. What awaits the two lovers in this village? An OC focused story and sequel to Another.
1. Chapter 1: Return to Where it Began

**Hello everyone. Well, it's been quite a while since I finished up with **_**Another**_** and gave promise of a sequel. That was back in the beginning of March. My original intentions were to begin work on the sequel to it, **_**Reunion**_**, and post it soon afterwards. Instead, I decided to finish up another story of mine, **_**Minutes to Midnight**_**, and try to finish it off first. It ran over on time I thought it would take, thus pushing the publish date of this story farther and farther back, plus work on it has not been tremendously great either. Still, I did find time to work on it some, so here we are.**

**I will be honest about this story. It won't be nearly as long as **_**Another**_** was. No, I'd say it'll only last 10-15 chapters, maybe less, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. As for how often I'll be posting, well, that's kind of up in the air at the moment due that I'm rather busy at work and home. For the time being, I will update every 2 weeks. I know, that's not much, but it's the best I can do for now and most likely be consistent.**

**At any rate, I'll stop jabbering on. I look forward to hearing from those who have read **_**Another**_**, plus I look forward to those first time readers also. I hope to read everyone's thoughts and comments on this story in the reviews. Till then, enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Staring down at a small village that was a mile away, a young woman wearing a dark blue kimono top and battle skirt that reached her knees in length, with pink sakura flowers embroidered into it, a pink obi with a sword in a pink sheath and a pink braided lace hilt, and slits cut out in the skirt that went up to her hips, sniffed the air and slid her emerald colored eyes shut. On her head, two black cat ears swiveled, with a black fur covered tail behind her body swishing in the air. The young woman's hair fell to her butt in length and had a bit of a red coloring in her bangs and the top of her head, but the remainder of her hair was jet black. Her hands hung freely in the air, revealing sharp clawed fingers.

Reopening her eyes, she slightly smiled, revealing fanged teeth. In a soft whisper, she said "It still smells the same, even after all this time."

"Most scents you memorized over the years do." a voice behind her spoke up.

Glancing over her shoulder, the young woman spotted a young man wearing a black kimono top and pants, with intricate red hexagon patters etched into the silky material of his clothing, a simple green obi with a sword that had a black sheath and green braided hilt, and black boots on his feet. He had long black hair that reached his butt in length, but was pulled back into a ponytail, held tight by a purple ribbon. Upon the head of the young man was a pair of black dog ears, and his hands were clawed like the young woman.

Folding his arms over his chest, the young man mumbled "I don't think this is a good idea, Lilly."

"We've been over this, Iya." Lilly sharply remarked.

Growling lightly at his mate, the dog hanyou firmly replied "Lilly, if we go through with this, I can't promise I will be able to protect you."

"I'm not worried. The people of this village won't harm us, I know it."

Turning to face her mate, the neko hanyou added in a sly tone "Besides, I can protect myself. At any rate, I'm better equipped to protect the two of us anyways when we lose our powers."

"Regardless, I think this is a bad idea. Can't you sense those two auras in the village?"

"What auras?"

Releasing a small sigh, the male hanyou replied "The two holy auras. One belongs to a priest, and a powerful one at that, and the other to a low level priest. I'm not sure if we can handle the stronger one should a confrontation break out. I have no intentions of provoking either, but still, I don't think we should go in. We wouldn't want to draw their attention."

Turning around to look back over the cliff, the neko murmured "I'm not worried."

"Lilly…" Iya ground out. "This is serious! You could be placing both of us in danger, and I can't guarantee that I can save the two of us."

Not receiving a response, the dog hanyou growled lowly and stalked away from the neko hanyou, leaving her to her thoughts. Looking over the village, she sadly smiled.

"_It's completely the same, with the exception of that defensive wall being built around the outside of the village._"

Eyeing the scenery, the neko hanyou noted that in the village, a pier jutted out into the small stream that ran by the village, with two canoes tied to the pier. Freshly built huts appeared to have families already living within them, and the fields were seemingly ready to be plowed up for the spring planting season.

"_Yeah, same old boring village._" the neko murmured in her mind. "_During the years that Naraku lived, he and his incarnations never came to my home. That helped us also protect against bandits and armies. Only an occasional demon came in, and even then, it was such a low level demon that the men of the village could take care of it. It seems as though time itself hasn't touched this place. It wasn't until he came to the village that things changed…_"

Sliding her eyelids shut, the neko could feel her mind replaying the day that things had changed for the small village, and had changed her own life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in the village. All of the villagers were hard at work with whatever responsibilities or chores that they had to keep the village moving forward. While everyone was working, a black robed figure with long red hair sauntered through the village, but none paid him any real heed, for many people often drifted through.

Placing a kimono onto a pole to dry, a young woman with mid-back length black hair with light blue eyes, wearing a purple kimono with yellow butterflies embroidered into it, slightly smiled while humming a quiet tune. Looking up, she saw the black robed stranger, but paid no heed to him, knowing how strangers would just go through the village from time to time.

Nearly ten minutes passed before the young woman heard a loud scream, along with a set of explosions. Seeing smoke raising into the air from within the village, the young woman ran towards where she had heard the blasts.

As she ran past one hut, someone grabbed her from behind with one arm around her waist, pinning her arms down and the other over her mouth. She struggled against the arms until a voice hissed "It's me, quite fighting."

Relaxing, she realized who the person was behind her. Carefully, the person pulled her into the hut she had just passed by and released her. Turning around, she looked to find a young man with short black hair with his bangs covering part of his face and dark coal eyes. He wore a gray long sleeved kimono top with a pair of gray pants. Staring at her cousin, the young woman whispered "Sai…"

"Lilly, you idiot what were you doing run up like that!? There is a demon attacking the village!" Sai hissed at her with his dark eyes darting about under his messed up black hair.

Irritated and angered by her cousin's tone, Lilly hissed back "What are you doing hiding?"

"What your father told me to do! The demon said that he all he wanted was a girl of marrying age from the village and he would leave. Uncle Tarja told me to find you and hide. I think he is going to tell it that there is no one here like that." the young man replied before sneaking a peak out the doorway.

In the distance, the pair heard a male voice say "I have been watching this village for some time, that I have. I know you are lying, that you are."

Using a louder tone, the male voice coolly said "Young lady, for every minute you hide, I will kill another one of these people and burn another hut. Do you really want this village destroyed because of your unwillingness to come out of hiding?"

Glancing at his cousin, the young man saw tears starting to spill down her face. In a warning tone, he grit out "Lilly…"

"I have to, Sai." Lilly quietly said.

Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she softly added "Tell Momma and Poppa I love them."

Wiping the tears away from her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono, the young woman weakly smiled at her cousin, who stood still with clenched hands. Seeing him twitch slightly, the young woman reasoned he was about to grab hold of her once more, but saw he made no movement.

"Lilly, thank you." Sai whispered.

Nodding, Lilly held her head high as she walked out of the building and towards what was most certainly her death. Her breath caught in her throat as she walked onto the path down the center of the village. The smell of blood, wood and flesh burning was thick in the air. Several bodies were scattered about, some being smoldering skeletons and others people she had known with slash marks on their bodies, but that wasn't the main source of her woes.

The red haired man she had seen earlier was now holding her father off the ground by his throat and was slowly raising his sword up to plunge it into her father. Without thinking, Lilly screamed out "Put him down!"

"Oh, so you showed yourself. Good girl." the red haired man said with a smile while he dropped her father to the ground unceremoniously.

"Poppa!" she screamed while running over to the heavily panting form of her father that was laying on the ground. Reaching him, she hit her knees and gently, she raised his head into her lap and surveyed the damage. There was what looked like a hand print burnt into her father's neck, but his was breathing, causing her to sigh in relief.

In a soft, purring voice, the red haired man coolly said "Well stand up. I want a good look at you, that I do."

Lowering her father's head back down onto the ground, Lilly slowly got to her feet. In a nervous voice and without looking at the demon, she said "I'll go with you, now leave everyone alone."

Stepping over her father, the red headed man took a hold of the young woman's hand and walked her to the village square, out of sight of her father. "Sit with me." the demon softly commanded while sitting down on the ground. With no choice, the young woman was pulled down to the ground with the demon.

"I am Kenshin Himora, of The Thirteen, that I am. What is your name?" Kenshin purred, with almost what seemed like kindness in his voice.

Quietly, the young woman replied "Lilly Takashi, daughter of Headman Tarja and Miralla. What are you going to do to me?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you, that I won't." Kenshin said in a calm voice.

Looking at the red haired demon, the young woman saw that he had violet colored eyes, while most of his features were hidden by his robes. Without warning, she heard him start speaking in a language that she had never heard before. Listening to it, she tried to comprehend what he was saying, but suddenly felt her mind beginning to go lax. Without warning, she fell over onto the ground.

Before the darkness of sleep took over, she heard someone yell "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE KENSHIN."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opening her emerald eyes slowly, Lilly stared down at the small village once more. The wind gently picked up and blew her hair into the air, causing it to float around her body while her clothing rustled. Swiveling her ears, she heard the sound of someone approaching, and quickly deduced it was her mate from the sound of his footsteps and his scent of cinnamon and woods.

Stopping five feet behind her, Iya softly spoke up, saying "You should really get away from that cliff. Someone may see you."

Nodding slightly, the neko hanyou sighed and slowly stepped away from where she had been standing and moved back to before at her mate. Seeing curiosity in his eyes, the neko smiled slightly and reached up and gently pecked him on the cheek.

Pulling back, she walked a short distance to a nearby tree and stopped underneath of it. Leaning up against it, the female hanyou sighed once more before looking at her mate.

"Lilly, I don't like this."

Releasing a heavy sigh, the neko slowly looked into her mate's muddy brown eyes. Finding worry and concern filling them, Lilly pushed off from the tree and walked up to her mate. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek and softly caressed it.

"We've been through this already, Iya. I trust my family. No harm will come to us."

Reaching up and grabbing her wrist, Iya firmly replied "It's not them I'm worried about."

Releasing her hand and turning away, the dog hanyou took a few steps before coming to a stop. "It's the two priests I sense within the village that worries me. If either of us release the suppression of our swords demonic auras, they'll know immediately that we're in the village. Even with your family being the head family, the stronger of the two priests may attack us. And should he, I'm not entirely sure I can stop him from harming not only you and me, but others who may get caught in the crossfire."

Eyes widening a fraction as realization dawned on the neko hanyou, she looked downwards for a moment before finally lifting her head, saying "I still want to go. My family has a right to know what became of me."

"Lilly…" Iya ground out while clenching his hands tightly into fists. Looking over his shoulder at his mate, the dog hanyou said in a clipped tone "Your family will not understand. The last time you saw them, they thought you were a demon posing as their daughter. If you go back, they may do the same thing, or worse."

Turning around and moving before his mate and pulling her into a tight embrace, which shocked the neko hanyou, the dog hanyou added in a faint whisper "I don't want to see you suffer through something like that. Watching your parents say they didn't know you one time was bad enough, but to have to watch you do it again would be heartbreaking, and I don't want to see that kind of sadness in your eyes again."

"Iya…" the neko whispered while relaxing into the hanyou's embrace. Feeling her eyes mist, she pulled back and kissed the cheek of her mate, softly saying "I understand how you feel, but I feel I need to do this. They deserve to know what really happened to their daughter."

Releasing a heavy sigh, the dog hanyou stepped back and quietly said "I understand."

Weakly smiling, Lilly pecked her mate on the cheek and softly replied "Thank you for this. You know I love you with all of my heart, right?"

"I could never question that." the male hanyou remarked. "Nor should you ever fear that my love would waver for you. I will always love you."

Moving forward and kissing his mate, the dog hanyou felt her loop her arms around his neck while he deepened the kiss. It was slow at first, but he slowly poured out more and more passion into it. The pair soon came up for air, with both resting their foreheads against the others.

"We should get moving soon." Iya mumbled. "Sunset is approaching."

Nodding gently, the neko pulled back to look into her mate's eyes. Muddy brown met emerald, with the pair seemingly getting lost in each other's eyes. Finally, the pair separated, with the dog hanyou reaching out and lacing his hand with his mates. Together, the pair began walking towards the road that led to the village.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just under a quarter of a mile away, the neko and dog hanyous sat in the shadows of the large trees that were next to the road. Both had their senses at high alert and were concentrating on keeping both their demonic auras, along with their swords, suppressed.

"_He makes it seem so easy._" Lilly grumbled within her mind while continuing to concentrate heavily on hiding her demonic aura, along with the aura of her sword that sat on her hip.

Glancing up at the sky, the dog hanyou saw the sun finally setting and felt his body pulsate at once. Casting a glance over at his mate, he saw her wince when another pulsation hit her. Reaching out, he took hold of her hand, causing her to grip it tightly.

Slowly, the pair of hanyou's forms began changing. Both hanyous' ears slowly sucked back into their head while human ears sprouted out to the side. At the same time, their claws and fangs shrunk back and became blunt fingernails and normal human teeth. The pair of stripes on the male hanyou's cheeks faded away, while his muddy brown eyes changed to a dark brown color. Simultaneously, the female hanyou's emerald eyes slowly became a light blue color.

Slightly panting, the former female hanyou, who was now a young human woman, released her mate's hand and grunted out "I'll never get used to that."

"It gets easier over time." the young man commented with a small smile.

Folding her arms over her chest, Lilly turned her head to the side and stuck her nose up in the air, causing Iya to only chuckle at his mate's actions. Reaching out, he caressed her cheek gently and said "At least you managed to keep the aura of Kimi hidden while transforming."

Releasing a light sigh, the young woman relaxed into her mate's touch and mumbled "I guess I did. You had no trouble at all, if I had to guess."

"It's not easy for me either." the young man curtly replied. "Suppressing my own aura while it's fading isn't so bad, but suppressing Ketsaiga at the same time is not so simple. It takes skill to do so, and you apparently have the skill to do so also seeing how I can't sense Kimi."

"I guess…" the young woman mumbled.

Slightly smiling at his mate, the young man reached forward and wrapped her in a warm embrace. Moving his head so that he was only an inch away from his mate's ear, he quietly whispered into her ear "I'm proud of you."

Eyes widening a fraction, the young woman couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace her face. Seeing her mate pull back, she stared into his dark brown eyes for a moment before reaching forward and placing a kiss onto his lips. Immediately, the young man deepened the kiss and felt his mate still smiling while she looped her arms around his neck, pulling the two closer together.

Coming up for air at last, the pair stared into one another's eyes while panting lightly. Looking his mate's face over, Iya couldn't help but feel the happiness, but also apprehension, radiating from his mate's body.

"_She's a bit scared about this like I am. I can't blame her too much. To go see the very people that rejected her due to what she had become would be hard. I only pray, Kami, that you get them to accept her for what she is._"

Separating from one another, the young man walked over to where a felled log sat and took a seat upon it. Immediately, the young woman joined him. The two looked up at the sky, finding the full moon was already climbing higher into the sky while stars sparkled about.

Leaning her head onto the shoulder of her mate, the young woman closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying her best to pull the scent of her mate in. Noting what she was doing, the young man couldn't help but mentally chuckle.

"_Even when human, she loves my scent. I can't blame her though, for I do the same thing._"

Laying his head upon his mate, the young man picked up the light scent of raspberries emanating from his mate. Inhaling her scent, he felt the worry in his mind slowly slipping away, but quickly pushed the calming effect to the back of his mind.

Taking his head off of his mate's, he glanced up at the sky and mentally chided himself for relaxing. "_I can't let my guard down, not tonight. Who knows what may happen tonight. I can only remain vigilant and hope that nothing goes wrong and that when morning comes, we can escape before the priests notice._"

"How long do we have to wait?"

Broken out of his thoughts, the young man looked down at his mate and saw she was still laying on his shoulder. Softly smiling, he quietly replied "We should wait an hour. That will give us time to move in without too much commotion."

"Alright…"

Kissing the top of his mate's head, the young man softly smiled before returning his attention to the nighttime sky.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking in silence, the pair of black haired humans reached the entrance to the village, only to find two guards at the front of it. Seeing them both, the young man eyed both before casting a small glance at his mate.

In a low whisper, Iya asked "Do you recognize either of them?"

Eyeing both men, the young woman looked over their features. They were dressed in simple clothing that a farmer would wear and each was wielding a spear. The first was a young man who looked to be in his twenties and had short black hair and appeared to be in great shape, while the other was a middle aged man that had gray hair bound in a short ponytail and a bit of a pudgy belly.

"No, they look new to the village." Lilly quietly responded.

Giving a slight nod, the young man continued to lead his mate towards the entrance of the village, only to have the two guards snap to attention and raise their weapons towards the pair.

"Halt, state your name and business here!" the younger of the guards barked.

Calmly, Iya held out his hands in a non-threatening way, saying "My name is Iya, and this is my wife, Lilly. We are traveling and wish to find a place to rest for the night."

"I don't trust him, Bunta." the young man growled out. "They're both armed, meaning they could be trouble!"

Placing a hand onto his young partner's shoulder, Bunta evenly replied "You're on overreacting, Jin. Remember the last time you did this and dragged those two guys to Headman Tarja's home, claiming they were spies and how Tarja was infuriated at you for wasting his time over interrogating a pair of tea sellers?"

Jin immediately shivered at the memory of the anger on the Headman's face over the incident and slowly lowered his weapon. "Alright, we'll do things your way, this time, Bunta."

"Good." Bunta remarked. Turning to the young couple, he smiled, saying "We unfortunately do not have an inn within the village. There are plans to build one, but we've yet to have it constructed. I suggest going to Headman Tarja's home. It's near the center of the village. It is off by itself a bit, so you shouldn't miss it. It's the larger of the huts in that area."

Nodding in reply, Iya smoothly calmly said "Thank you. We shall go see him then. Good night."

Bowing lightly, the young man saw his mate do the same and the pair walked away. Getting out of hearing range, the young woman looked at her mate and asked "Why did you lie?"

"I did not lie." the young man quickly replied. "I simply told the truth. We are traveling and need a place to stay. I knew they would direct us to the headman of the village since you told me before that there was no inn."

Digesting her mate's words, Lilly nodded slightly, but countered with "But you said we were married. We're not officially, in a human sense."

"To demons, we are married." Iya corrected. "More or less, we are married due that we are mated. It's just a difference in ceremonies and what humans consider proof of a marriage. They prefer paperwork and an extravagant ceremony, while demons simply mark the person they mate with."

"I suppose." the young woman commented.

Noting his mate seemed to grow silent, the young man decided to ignore it for the moment due that he was reaching out with his senses. He could feel the aura of the pair of priests in the distance, making him inwardly smile.

"_Good, they're busy patrolling the village. That means we won't be disturbed, for now. Now we just have to avoid as many guards and people as possible till we reach her parents home._"

Reaching out and taking hold of his mate's hand, the young black haired man began to move quickly towards the shadows. Using his diminished hearing, he found that there was a guard or two on patrol throughout the village in various sections. Carefully, the pair began weaving through the huts while keeping in the shadows and out of sight of the guards.

After nearly fifteen minutes of hiding and moving through the shadows, the pair at last was before the hut that belonged to the village headman. Staring at it, the young woman couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Memories of her childhood immediately began running through her mind.

Noting the dreamy look on his mate's face, the young man scowled slightly and gently touched her shoulder, saying "Lilly, we can't stay out in the open."

Waking from her memories, the young woman looked over at her mate and slightly nodded. "I guess you're right. I hope seeing me again isn't too much of a shock to them."

"We'll never know unless you go ahead."

Squeezing her mate's hand, Lilly moved out of the shadows and to before the door of the hut that she once called home. Hesitating for a moment, the young woman finally rapped upon the door gently. A few moments passed before a woman with mid-back length jet black hair and light blue eyes, wearing a dark purple kimono with a pink obi sash appeared at the door.

"Yes, may I …"

Stopping in mid-sentence, the woman's eyes widened and her jaw opened as tears began to well up in her eyes. In a faint whisper, she said "Lilly… Is this another dream? If I touch you, will you just vanish again?"

With tears spilling out of her own eyes, Lilly smiled and reached forward, embracing the woman gently, saying "It's really me, Momma. I'm home."

Immediately, the older woman broke down into sobs and embraced her daughter tightly, afraid if she let go the young woman would vanish once more. Finally quieting, the pair separated, with the elder woman staring into her daughter's light blue eyes.

"Come on, your father will want to see you."

Nodding, the young woman followed her mother, leaving her mate behind. Waiting for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh, Iya grumbled within his mind "_Damn it, she lost her concentration. I can tell that the two priests have already picked up on Kimi's faint aura. They'll be here in no time, I'm sure._"

Releasing another heavy sigh, the young man went into the hut. Walking in, he saw a man with black hair that was bound in a ponytail and appeared to reach his neck in length, an imprint of a hand burned into his neck, a lean muscular build, and black coal eyes, embracing his mate.

"Lilly, my daughter, you've finally come back to us. Thank Kami!"

"I just knew you weren't dead. I just knew it. Our prayers have been answered, Tarja." the elder woman declared.

Responding with a nod to his wife, Tarja warmly replied "Yes, he most certainly has, Miralla."

Clearing his throat, Iya found himself quickly becoming the center of attention, with the man and woman looking at him while releasing their daughter.

"Who are you, and what business do you have here?" Tarja questioned.

Reaching up and touching her father's shoulder, Lilly calmly said "Poppa, this is Iya Taisho. He is the one that escorted me home and has been protecting me for quite a while."

Studying the young man for a few moments, Tarja finally remarked "I thank you for keeping my daughter safe and bringing her home to us."

"It was my pleasure." Iya smoothly replied.

Returning his attention to his daughter, the older man asked "Lilly, what happened to you that day the demon attacked? We saw another two demons come into the village, seemingly forcing the first one to leave, but one of them picked you up and took you with them. A day later, another demon, a female one, came here and tried to pass itself off as you. We knew it was a lie and tried to kill her, but the same demon from the day before that had whisked you away took her away also."

"And where have you been since then?" Miralla asked.

Remaining quiet for a moment, Lilly slowly replied "The day the village was attacked by Kenshin Himura, I was saved by those two men. They were Iya over there and his partner, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Glancing at the young man, who stood quietly leaned up against the far wall with his eyes slid shut, the elder man frowned, saying "Lilly, he isn't a demon. You're mistaken."

Shaking her head, the young woman fiercely countered with "You're wrong, Poppa. Iya is the one who took me with him and Ichigo. During the night, the effects of Kenshin's spell took root, transforming me into a neko hanyou. I didn't wake up till the next day."

Feeling tears beginning to well up in her eyes, Lilly pushed them back and pressed onwards, saying "When I woke up, I saw Iya and was afraid, so I ran back to the village. I tried to get Momma and you to realize it was me, your daughter, but you both said that I wasn't your daughter, that I was a demon that killed your daughter."

"Lilly, hunny, that isn't possible. Just look at you, you are a human, not some demon." Miralla warmly said while attempting to embrace her daughter, only to have her push away.

"Momma, I really am a hanyou!"

Looking her daughter over, the elder woman shook her head, saying "No, Lilly, you are human."

"Lilly, listen to your mother. You are a human girl, not some animal." Tarja added.

"I told you they wouldn't believe a word you said." Iya spoke up, causing the three to look to him. Pushing off from the wall, he opened his eyes and calmly said "I guess since we're about to have company, I have but no choice but to prove your story true."

Turning towards the main doorway, the young man drew his sword out of it's sheath deliberately slowly. Holding it before his body, he called forth the sword's power, causing it to flare to life and transform into a large silver halberd with a black ring of fur guard.

Seeing the sword, Tarja began to speak, only to be stopped by the door suddenly being blast off of it's hinges. Rushing in quickly behind the door and taking up stances for an attack just inside of the doorway were two young men clad in white. The first had black, almost blue, hair that hung to his lower neck in length, with long bangs in front, a pair of glasses on his nose, dark blue eyes, and a slender but muscular build. His clothing consisted of white pants, a white tunic that had two long trailing pieces, one in front and one in back with each having a split that ran halfway up, a belt with what looked like six handle like objects seated within it, a short white cape that reached below his shoulder blades in length, and a single white glove on his right hand that had blue lines running along each finger. Attached to his right wrist was a black bow with white covering a portion of it in four intricate lines, and the string to the inside. The bow was gripped tightly within his hand, while a glowing light blue energy arrow sat notched within it.

Next to the first young man was another young man that had short black hair with his bangs covering part of his face and dark coal eyes. He wore a gray long sleeved kimono top with a pair of gray pants. In his left hand was a glowing light blue energy bow that had an energy arrow notched within it.

"Move and I'll fire!" the young man with glasses declared.


	2. Chapter 2: Explinations

**Hello to everyone out there once more. So, what's been up since last week. Well, lots to be honest, lol. My dad and I got all of the hay up at my grandmother's farm, thankfully, and now we've moved over to dad's farm, so yay. We should be done maybe Thursday or Friday. Not sure which yet. Ah yes, over the weekend, I did get a bit sicker. I have been sick for the last 3-4 weeks for those who didn't know. I had been coughing to the point that I could no longer breath. I was literally gasping for air, which is a scary feeling, let me assure you of that much for those who can't understand it. Anyways, I've been to the doctor 3 times and they think they finally had it figured out, but guess what. They were WRONG! They thought I may have acid reflux, which I could I guess, but it's not the main cause of my problems. I found that out this weekend, for sure. Saturday, I began taking a sore throat, plus threw up a few times during coughing fits, which was somewhat new. I took it easy that day, but seemed to be progressively be getting worse as the day wore on. Finally, all night and morning of Saturday and Sunday, I was miserable. I kept waking up with coughing fits, which caused me to throw up either food or snot. Nice disgusting thought, right? Anyways, I finally decided to go to the emergency room Sunday morning. Luckily, there wasn't many people there. I got x-rayed, blood work, and all that fun stuff done to me. They discovered I had a severe sinus infection. Btw, right before I had gotten sick, I had had a sinus infection, and the ER doctor determined I just never got over it most likely and it festered into it's current state. In the last two days, I've felt much better. I no longer take those harsh coughing fits. Instead, I cough a bit, spit up snot, then move on. Hopefully I'm well on my way to recovery. I hope at the least. Anyways, that's my life in a nutshell for this time.**

**Writing wise, I'm getting some done, though it's slow due to a busy workplace and home life. I'll try and speed up the updates, but no guarantees still. For now, I'll keep my every two week rule in effect till I get confident enough that I'm capable of posting weekly.**

**Moving along, it's time for my favorite part. That's right, reviews!**

**Kattana: I'm glad you found this story and am keeping up with it. Yep, there was a bit of action during the first chapter. I'm sure everyone hopes things turn out good for Lilly since it's her first visit home in a while. Thanks for the review!**

**Espada Zero: Glad you found this story also. Yep, the sequel is finally coming out for **_**Another**_** in the form of **_**Reunion**_**. Heh, yeah, I decided to add Uryu to the story. The other guy, Sai, is from Naruto Shippuden actually. He's the replacement that was dragged in for Sasuke. A strange pick, I know, but he seemed to fit. We'll see where this story goes. Never know, it could be something that no one was expecting. Heh, bring in the Arrancars you say? I don't know about that one. We'll see. The type of demons you picked for the two does seem to fit. Again, we'll see. Nah, I've not seen Avatar, but I've heard a lot about it. I just don't have Nickledeon is why. It's a crime! If I get a chance, I'll take a look at your stories. Thanks for the review, plus adding this story to your favs and alerts!**

**mcsnellies: You stole my avatar from… Crap, I can't remember where I have that avatar at, lol. But I know I have it! Lol, anyways, yeah, thanks for the comments. It should look familiar since you read it for me. Thanks for the review and add to your updates!**

**The Rainwalker: Hey there. Nice to see you're checking out my other stories. Heh, you may have a bit of difficulty on figuring out what's happening to be honest. To fully understand what's happening, you'd have to read through **_**Another**_** first. In that story is where you meet Lilly and Iya from the get go and find out why Lilly is the way she is. She's a human who had a spell cast on her by a mage that turned her into a half demon and would have been his slave with no will if not for the fact Iya and company killed him before the spell could complete. Again, you may want to read **_**Another**_** to fully understand what's going on. Yes, I used Kenshin Himura from Ruroni Kenshin as one of the villains in the previous story. And yep, Iya's partner he traveled with for a twenty some years was Ichigo Kurosaki. Hmm, didn't notice the grammar when I proofread it last time. I'll have to take a look. LOL! I'll try to keep this story happier than **_**Minutes to Midnight**_** was, hehe. Thanks for the review!**

**CJ – Lady of Gryffindor: Heh, more you say? Well, it's coming. Ichigo is invisible at the moment, lol. True, I did say he would be somewhere, but we'll see, won't we? Thanks for the review and add to your updates!**

**Well, that's that for this week. Wow, 5 reviews from last week. Pretty nice. Thanks to all five of you for your input and comments. I really like hearing what people have to say about my stories. It's a lot of help in the long run. Thanks to all of you once more. And to any who read the first chapter but didn't review, please do feel free to do so. I won't bite your head off. I always respond to my readers, one way or another, so feel free to say what you think.**

**At any rate, I'm done for today. I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

Slightly smirking, Iya coolly said "Took you long enough to notice the aura of my mate's sword. She lost her concentration on suppressing it's demonic aura a good ten minutes ago. I'm surprised you didn't get here sooner."

Glaring at the young man brandishing the large sword, the young man with glasses turned his attention to the elder man and woman, asking "Headman Tarja and Lady Miralla, are you two alright?"

Waking from their stupor, both Tarja and Miralla nodded slowly. Nodding in return, the young man with glasses caught a glimpse of the other young man beside of himself staring at the young woman between the Headman and his wife.

"Lilly?" questioned the young man with the energy bow. "Is that you?"

Taking a few steps forward, the youngest of the pair of archers began releasing tension on his bow, only to come to a stop by the thundering voice of his comrade.

"SAI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

Glancing back, Sai quietly replied "Master Uryū, that's my cousin. The one that I told you about disappeared a little over six months ago."

"Regardless of your relation, remain at your post. If that guy over there wanted to, he could have killed you for dropping your guard, plus you were in my path, meaning I wouldn't have been able to intercept his attack." Uryū firmly stated.

Understanding his master's words, Sai returned to the side of Uryū and reapplied tension to his bow. Looking towards the pair of archers, the elder man in a calm, but demanding voice, spoke up, asking "What is happening, Master Quincy?"

"Those two people that are visiting with you are carrying demonic swords. The one with the large halberd has the stronger of the two, for the energy radiating from it is tremendous. That young lady with the two of you has one as well, but her sword is not radiating as much demonic energy." Uryū explained.

"There must be some mistake, Master Quincy." Miralla chimed in. "This is our missing daughter, Lilly. The young man over there, we do not know him, but she trusts him and told us he brought her home."

Not lowering his weapon, the young man with glasses calmly replied "It doesn't matter. Both are carrying demonic weapons. When I first came to this village, you told me that your daughter was taken by a demon after the demon mage known as Kenshin Himura had attacked. You then told me that the day after a young female demon came into the village masquerading as your daughter. She was dressed in your daughter's clothing, but you choose to not believe her and attempted to kill her, only to be stopped by the same demon that had taken your daughter the day before. He then took that female demon out of the village."

"I believe that the two humans in this room are those very same demons. They are somehow concealing their powers."

Without warning, the young man brandishing the large halberd began chuckling, making the group turn their attention to him. Finally regaining his composure, he calmly said "You know how to spin a good tale, but you're not quite right. We are not concealing our demonic powers for three reasons. One, you were half right about us suppressing the aura's that our swords are releasing, but that was all we were suppressing. Two, we are not full fledged demons. We are only half demons. Three, since I will no doubt have to spell it out for some in this room if they haven't already figured it out, hanyou's have a single night during the month when they lose their demonic powers and become ordinary humans. This is our night of weakness."

Processing the words of young man, Uryū remained still for a few moments before slowly commanding "Identify yourself."

"It is proper manners for one to introduce himself, not demand who another is." Iya rebutted.

Feeling annoyed and angered by the words and correction of his target, the young man with glasses coolly said "My name is Uryū Ishida. I am the Quincy who protects this village."

"A Quincy?" Iya murmured. Softly smiling, he calmly added "I've heard of the Quincy. They are priests who fight using bows and arrows, much like priestesses. Unlike priestesses though that carry physical bows and arrows, a Quincy fights using their own spiritual powers to form a bow and their arrows, thus keeping them from being caught without a weapon in hand."

Eyeing the Quincy for a moment, the young man with the sword before himself continued on, saying "Quincy's are rather rare anymore though. I had heard that almost all were dead during my travels. I have never met one in person, but from the descriptions I was told of, they are fierce in battle and will not give an inch. I also heard that they are quite prideful and will do anything to protect the people they care about."

"You know a lot about Quincy's for not ever meeting them, half breed." Uryū coldly stated.

Shrugging, Iya calmly replied "I was forced to study up on humans and demons as a child, so Quincy's naturally came into my studies."

Glaring at the young man, the young man with glasses coldly said "You've yet to tell me who you are. Be quick about it, for if I don't get the answer I want, I will not hesitate to shoot you. Human, demon, or hanyou, whichever you are, you will not survive a shot at close range. Now tell me who you are and your reason for being in this village."

Keeping his gaze locked on the Quincy before himself, the young man with the large halberd calmly said "My name is Iya Taisho, son of the former Lord of the Western Lands, Inutaisho Taisho, and half brother to the current Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru Taisho."

Seeing a bit of shock within the eyes of the glasses wearing Quincy, Iya couldn't help but mentally chuckle. Remaining calm on the outside, he added "As for my business in this village, I am here with my mate, who wished to visit her family. We came on our human night since her parents would not believe her the last time she saw them over six months ago as a neko hanyou."

"You lie!" Tarja heatedly yelled. "Our daughter is not some beast!"

"Headman Tarja, remain calm." Uryū spoke up in a firm voice. Seeing that the Headman had listened to him, the Quincy returned his attention to the young man before him. "You say you came here with your mate. Do you mean that the daughter of Headman Tarja and Lady Miralla, Lilly Takashi, is your mate?"

Not even hesitating, Iya firmly replied "Yes, I do mean to say that. We have been mates for just barely over six months."

Quickly, before the Quincy had a chance to interrupt, the young man with the large halberd added "And before you ask, no, I did not take her forcefully. It was her choice to become my mate. You can examine our mating marks if you don't believe me. After all, being a Quincy, you should know about demon mating rituals, how a male marks a female. But on rare occasion, when a pair of demons loves one another, a male will allow a female to mark him."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Uryū slowly spoke up, saying "Lady Miralla, I want you to do me a favor."

"What do you wish me to do?"

Keeping his eyes trained on the young man with the halberd, the Quincy with glasses calmly responded with "I wish for you to lower the collar of your daughter on the left side of her neck and look to see if she has a marking. It should be a pair of dots."

Confused at the request, Miralla nodded and crept forward to before her daughter. Reaching up carefully, she pulled down the collar of the young woman to find as the Quincy had described to her.

"Yes, there is a marking with two dots." the elder of the women commented before letting go of her daughter's collar.

Silence enveloped the room for a moment before Iya spoke up, saying "Quincy, I have no desire to fight with you or your apprentice. The only reason we are here is so my mate can visit with her family and explain to them what happened over six months ago, and to catch up on what has happened since then."

"I will not harm a single villager while here. It goes against my honor to harm or kill humans due that I am part human also. But should anyone attempt to harm my mate, I will protect her with necessary force. I will not allow any harm to come to her."

Remaining quiet for a moment, the elder Quincy calmly said "Headman Tarja, I don't view this hanyou to be a threat, nor your daughter…"

"Our daughter is no beast!" Miralla angrily chimed in.

Sighing, Uryū gently released the tension on his bow and allowed the energy arrow to dissipate into nothingness. A moment passed before his bow vanished as well. Reaching up and pushing his glasses against his nose, he replied "Whether you believe it or not, this guy, the brother of the Lord of the West is in our presence. I choose to believe him due that he has no reason to lie to any of us. What would be the point to lie?"

"He could be plotting to take our daughter again, along with the other young women of our village!" Tarja accused.

Releasing another sigh, this one more pronounce, the elder Quincy sharply remarked "If he was going to do that, don't you think he'd have done it already? It is obvious to me that these two have no intensions of harming the village, or any of it's villagers. Both came during the night they become human, proving to me that they have no desire to fight. If they had, they'd have been here in hanyou form."

"However, both Sai and I will remain here to watch the pair. Though the two of them seem to have no ill intentions, I cannot allow a possible threat to the village to remain here unguarded."

Lowering his sword, Iya reversed the transformation and sheathed his sword before quietly replying "That seems fair enough for me."

Not acknowledging the young man with the now sheathed sword, the elder Quincy walked over to the far corner of the room and took a seat. Deciding to make himself comfortable as well, Iya leaned back up against the wall he had had himself propped up against earlier and slid his eyes shut once more, while his senses remained at high alert.

Releasing a small sigh of relief, Sai dismissed his own energy bow. Remaining where he stood for a moment, he finally began walking over to Lilly and stopping a foot from her. "Is that really you, Lilly?"

"It's really me, Sai." Lilly assured with a smile. "It seems you found a new master to teach you the ways of the Quincy. I'm glad to see you didn't give up. And it looks like you got a bit stronger since the last time I saw you."

Blushing lightly at the praise of his cousin, he quietly replied "Well, I've been working hard under Master Uryū so I can one day protect our home."

Without warning, the young Quincy suddenly felt himself wrapped in a warm embrace. It immediately dawned on him that it was his cousin. Reaching to his shoulder where her head laid, he gently patted her head and felt his shoulder getting slightly wet. Sadly smiling, he continued to pat her head till finally his cousin pulled back, revealing tears in her eyes.

"I was worried that the village may come under attack again once I left. I wasn't sure what would happen to you." Lilly quietly mumbled.

Sadly smiling at his cousin, Sai replied "After the attack, I found out that my former master had died in battle against Kenshin. Apparently, he was the first to be cut down by him. Once things had settled and we couldn't find you, I decided to find another Quincy to train me and to help protect the village."

"While on my journey, I was attacked by demons and nearly killed. If not for Master Uryū coming to my aide, I probably wouldn't be here any longer. It was he that saved me and took me under his wing to train me. Since then, we've stayed here at the village. He even brought in some builders to help build a defensive wall around the village."

Nodding while wiping her tears away, the young woman smiled and said "I saw it when we were outside of the village."

"Lilly."

Turning to find it was her father that spoke up, the young woman heard him say "It is time you told us what is going on. I want to know all of it."

Casting a glance at her mate who was remaining quiet, but had cracked his eyes open and was looking towards her, Lilly returned her attention to her parents and quietly said "Alright, I'll tell you, but please, keep an open mind."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staring up at the full moon that hovered across the middle of the sky, a young man with long butt length white hair that hung freely and a pair of white dog ears on top of his head glanced off in the direction of the north. His clothing consisted of a fine silk white haori with matching white pants and a purple obi sash. Attached on his backside, just above his butt, was a pair of silver blades, with one laying on top of the other. Each had intricate designs within them on the upper part of the blades, with each having runic writing inscribed into them.

A light breeze blew up without warning while the sound of someone landing nearby caused the young man to cast his muddy brown eyes to his left. There, he found another young man, this one with wild spiky brown hair that stood up, with a muscular, but lean body build, powerful hands, pointed ears, and sharp dark brown eyes. A red headband was wrapped around his head, with two long flowing pieces of it reaching his mid-back in length. His clothing consisted of an open white tattered kimono top that revealed his chiseled out chest, a pair of white pants that were tied with a band, and white wrapping around his waist that rose up to just below his pecks. On the back of the kimono top embroidered in black was a symbol that represented the word 'bad'. In one hand, he held a large, five foot long dull gray halberd that had many scratches on it. The hilt of the sword itself was four feet in length and was seemingly made of pure wood.

"Yo." was the only word the brown haired young man said.

Looking without emotions crossing his face, the white haired man calmly replied "Where were you, Sanosuke?"

"I was just out walking around. Don't get bent out of shape at me over that, Yukio."

Feeling the breeze pick up once more, Yukio returned his vision towards the north. After a moment, he finally spoke up once more, saying "I can sense them again. It seems they're stopped for the night. We need to move while we can. Are you ready, Kenji?"

Stepping out from the shadows of the nearby forest was a young man with brown hair that was bound in a ponytail that reached his shoulder blades in length and long bangs, violet eyes, and pointed ears. His clothing was a simple violet colored kimono top, with sleeves that reached just above his elbows in length, black gloves that revealed his fingers but ran up to just below his elbows, a white pair of pants, and a white obi sash. On his left hip was a sword with a blue braided hilt and a round guard, within a black sheath.

"Yes, I am ready to leave." Kenji replied while joining the pair. "I look forward to this."

Moving towards the target he sensed with his companions following, Yukio's eyes hardened as he mentally mumbled "_Mother, I shall avenge you tonight. I swear, I will end his life for what he did to you._"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

After talking for several hours and listening to their daughter's tale, Tarja and Miralla at long last decided to go to bed. The offered for Lilly to use her old room to sleep in, but on the stipulation that Iya not sleep with her in there. Deciding against leaving her mate to deal with both Quincy, the young woman opted to remain by her mate's side instead, much to the chagrin of her parents. Too tired to argue, the pair went to bed, leaving the two Quincy behind with the pair of mates.

Slowly, over the course of the hour they had been left with the two Quincy, Lilly had finally fallen asleep on Iya's shoulder, who finally shifted her so that she was laying in his lap. Even though he preferred to watch his mate sleep, the young man kept his eyes glued to the elder of the two Quincy.

The other, Sai, had opted to sleep after his master had told him he could. He had immediately gotten up and walked over to the nearby corner of the hut and fell asleep instantly, leaving only Uryū and Iya awake.

Both stared at one another, with neither saying a word for an hour. Without warning, Uryū suddenly spoke up, asking "How many priests and priestesses have you killed?"

Confused and shocked at the question, Iya cast a glare at the Quincy before softly saying "If we're going to talk, let's go outside."

"I agree."

Carefully, Iya lifted his mate's head up off of his lap and gently set her back down onto the cushion he had been sitting upon. Looking down at his mate, he kneeled down and placed a light feathery kiss onto her head before smiling at her form.

"_She looks so beautiful when she's asleep, but that's not saying while she's awake she isn't._"

Standing up, the young man turned towards the door of the hut and walked out to find the Quincy was already outside and seemingly waiting on him. Staring at one another for a moment, the Quincy finally spoke up.

"Now that we're alone, answer my question."

Remaining calm, Iya remarked "For someone who said they trust me enough to think I won't harm anyone within the village, you sure are curious about my past. Does it put you at unease that I may have fought or killed priests or priestesses in the past?"

"I want to know what I'm dealing with." Uryū replied in a clipped tone.

Releasing a heavy sigh, the young man in black glanced up at the night sky, seeing the moon was already moving towards the far end of the sky, signifying the night would end within a couple of hours. Seeing this, the Quincy growled lightly and raised his right arm up. Light blue energy began forming around his gloved hand.

"No need to be so hasty." Iya commented. Seeing the Quincy dispelled the light blue energy, he continued on, saying "The complete and honest truth is I've never killed a priest or priestess. In fact, I've only met a handful, twenty or so, I suppose, during my lifetime."

"The first few I met were while I was a child living in the Western Stronghold. My father introduced me to a few that were friends with him. Over time, I met a few more in different villages when I began helping protect the Western Lands. Once I was sent away to track down and kill The Thirteen, a group of powerful demon mages, I met a few more."

Glancing back up at the night sky, Iya added "During my travels, I was forced to fight seven of them. Three of them fled once I revealed how much power I had. Three others weren't convinced and fought me anyways, only to have me injure them enough so that they couldn't continue to battle me."

"And the last one?" Uryū questioned.

Sadly smiling while returning his vision to the young Quincy before him, the young man softly said "She was special, and I can never forget her."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Iya slowly spoke up, saying "Her name was Nariko. I met her back about two hundred years ago when I was chasing after The Thirteen. I had only been chasing them for fifty some years, but running into her was coincidental. Apparently, the day before, a hanyou, who was apparently starving, attacked and killed a few of the livestock of the village I was traveling near. Nariko was a priestess for the area, so she was dispatched to deal with the hanyou. She instead found me."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swiveling his ears to detect any sounds, Iya sniffed the air and sighed for the millionth time in the last few days. "_Damn, still no sign of those troublesome mages. How could I have lost track of them again!?_"

Without warning, the sound of an arrow flying through the air hit the ears of the hanyou, but before he could react, it pierced through his left shoulder and struck into the ground. Screaming out in pain, he reached up to his left shoulder with his right hand instinctively, but fell to one knee while panting heavily. Glancing at the arrow on the ground, he saw that it had a pink aura flaring off of it before finally losing it's aura. Gritting his teeth, he applied pressure to his shoulder, only to wince from the pain flaring up his left arm.

"I found you at last, half breed." a female voice declared behind the dog hanyou.

Forcing himself back to his feet, Iya turned to find a young woman with long straight free flowing bright red hair that reached her lower calves in length, which seemed to put into a ponytail with a pair of hair pins on the back of her head. Her eyes were a strange color of crimson that seemed exotic, while at the same time reflected a great deal of anger and hatred. She had a fine toned and muscular body build with heavily accented curves and tanned skin. Her clothing consisted of a thick looking white kimono top with golden leaf designs etched into it, a white battle skirt with similar designs that reached just a few inches below the curve of her butt, and thick white boots that came up to the middle of her calves in length. Slung over each of her shoulders were two quivers full of arrows, while a bow rested within her hands. Just above her butt, resting against her back horizontally, was a sword sitting within it's sheath, seemingly ready to be drawn at any time.

With a new arrow already notched, the young woman smirked victoriously, saying "You will pay for your crimes, half breed."

Still clutching his wound tightly, the dog hanyou flashed defiant eyes up at the red headed woman and grit his teeth as pain flared up his arm for a moment. Regaining his composure, he finally replied "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me, half breed! You know damn well that it was you that attacked that nearby village's livestock! Those people needed those animals to make it through the winter, and now they may not since you slaughtered a few to fill yourself on!" the red haired woman accused.

Brow furrowing, Iya calmly replied "I don't know what you mean. I am just passing through, and I haven't been here for more than a…"

"You're not talking your way out of this!" the young woman roared. "The villagers told me that a half breed was the one that attacked. They said he had black furry ears on his head and wore a black kimono. You fit their description most definitely!"

Digesting the young woman's words for a moment, the dog hanyou released a small sigh before quietly saying "I did not harm the local village's livestock, but I offer my services to help find the one that did do it."

"I'll have none of your lies!" the red headed woman hissed back.

Without warning, she unleashed the arrow she had held back, sending it racing towards the young hanyou with a pink color trailing it. Nimbly, the hanyou leapt to the side, dodging the arrow with the pink aura surrounding it. Launching himself into the air, the hanyou threw a glance at the young woman, only to gasp in surprise to see she already had another notched. Showing no hesitation, the red haired woman released the arrow at the hanyou. Still in mid-air, the hanyou threw himself out of the way, with the arrow narrowly missing him as he fell to the ground.

Wincing from the landing, the dog hanyou placed his right hand over his left shoulder wound once more, feeling blood still pouring out of it. "_Damn it, just dodging her attacks and jumping around hurts like hell. Her miko energy that hit me must still be surrounding my wound, making it harder for my body to close up the wound._"

"It hurts, doesn't it, half breed?"

Waking from his thoughts, Iya glanced up to see the red haired miko triumphantly smirking while she notched another arrow within her bow. Pink glowing energy immediately began forming around the arrow, making the hanyou inwardly groan.

"That wound I inflicted you with is special. Unlike most priestesses that tend to put a large amount of energy into their arrows and intend on purifying their target in one shot, I disperse the energy in mine so that if it makes contact with a target, it will simply form around the wound instead. That way I use less miko energy, plus the demon I fight will be weakened, not to mention their wounds won't close off easily. It means that no matter what happens, most likely, I will win the battle, even if I'm harmed. Losing a great deal of blood over time will bring down even the strongest demon or hanyou eventually."

"_She's right about one thing. The longer I keep fighting her, the worse my wound will be. I need to get rid of her so I can treat it properly. That means I need to end this fight as quick as possible._"

Hardening his muddy brown eyes, the hanyou removed his right hand from his wound, allowing blood to begin dripping down onto the ground again. Seeing this, the miko released her arrow without hesitation. In a flash, the hanyou dodged the attack, causing the arrow to harmlessly strike the ground.

Quickly notching another arrow, the miko carefully tracked the hanyou through the air and launched her arrow. Seeing it coming, the hanyou once more dodged in mid-air, but placed his index and middle fingers together on his right hand. Flicking his wrist at the miko, his blue laser whip fired from the pair of fingers and went racing towards the shocked young woman. Easily, the blue energy whip tore through the bow in the hands of the red haired miko, causing her to curse under her breath as she attempted to pull away. Before the whip could do any more damage, the hanyou jerked it back to himself, leaving the miko unharmed, but her bow in shambles.

Falling to the ground, Iya came to a skidding stop and quickly raised his right hand to cover his wound once more. Throwing a glance at the miko, the hanyou couldn't help but inwardly smirk at the anger flashing over her face.

"Your weapon is broken, priestess. I suggest you retreat since you are now unarmed." Iya commented.

Glaring at the hanyou, the miko angrily threw the remains of her bow to the ground and shrugged the two quivers of arrows off of her shoulders. Reaching behind herself and grabbing the hilt of her sword, the miko slowly drew it out and turned the blade towards the dog hanyou, with anger seething in her eyes.

In a dangerous tone, the red haired miko ground out "You will pay for destroying my bow. That was a gift from my sister."

"Milady, please, I ask you to stop this. I have no desire to fight you." the dog hanyou firmly responded.

"That is fine, meaning I can just kill you without resistance." the red haired miko remarked with determination flashing in her eyes. "I will kill you for your crimes committed against that village."

Growling lightly, the dog hanyou replied "I swear to you, I did not harm that village. I would never resort to stealing for a meal. Believe me, I did not do it!"

Moving towards the hanyou at a slow walk at first, the miko slowly picked up speed till she was finally at a dead run. Irritated, the dog hanyou quickly let go of his wound and wrapped his blood covered hand around the hilt of Ketsaiga. Drawing it, the hanyou watched the sword transform immediately into it's large halberd shape with the ring of black fur for a guard. Keeping his eyes on the miko, he watched as the blade of her sword suddenly began glowing with a pink aura.

"_What the hell, she can channel her miko power up the blade too!?_"

Seeing he had no choice but to guard against the attack, Iya quickly brought his sword before himself and parried the swing. The two blades clashed together, sending out a spray of sparks out along with the loud sound of steel striking steel. Feeling the miko had put quite a bit of force behind her swing, the hanyou dug his heals in, not allowing himself to be moved.

Without warning, the dog hanyou felt his sword's aura starting to falter. Pushing away, he leapt backwards to a safe distance of eight feet while feeling out his sword.

"_Not good, she's pushing a lot of her miko power into the blade of her sword. At this rate, she'll reverse Ketsaiga's transformation after a while._"

Awoken from his thoughts by a loud battle cry, he saw the miko charging him once more with her sword ready to strike. Deciding to avoid her blade this time, he dodged by leaping into the air, only to be followed by the miko.

"I've got you now you bastard!" the miko roared while swinging her blade horizontally at the hanyou.

In a rash decision, he quickly parried the attack, but instantly felt his blade's demonic aura waning upon the two blades clashing. Growling lowly, he pushed off from the miko and landed back onto the ground, only to see the red headed miko charging him once more. Again, the pair of blades clashed, causing the hanyou to sense his blade's aura fading again.

Without hesitation, he leapt backwards, only to be followed. The miko relentlessly swung her blade at the hanyou, only to miss occasionally as he used his agility to dodge her attacks. A few forced him to parry her, but he was quick to pull back upon the blades touching.

Coming to rest with a distance of ten feet between the two, the dog hanyou saw the miko panting lightly. Grimacing from a flare of pain from his left shoulder, Iya let the blade of Ketsaiga touch the ground while he kept his eyes locked onto the miko.

"_She's good, but she's tiring. I bet running her miko energy up the blade of her sword takes a lot out of her. It has to. Still, she's proving to be more troublesome than I thought she would be. I need to end this so I can tend to my wound. It has yet to stop bleeding, meaning I'll start feeling lightheaded here in the near future if I keep moving around like I am. There is but one choice then._"

Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, the hanyou watched as the blade of his sword began coating itself in ice while frosty white steam poured off of it. Seeing the transformation was complete, he cringed lightly while picking the blade up off of the ground and laying it square onto his right shoulder.

"I don't know what you're up to, half breed, but it won't work against me." the red haired miko firmly stated while raising her blade up.

Remaining calm, Iya calmly countered with "I suggest you stop this fight, now. I don't want to harm you."

Anger flashing from her eyes, the miko charged forward, snarling out "You will not beat me, you half breed bastard!"

Watching the miko race towards him, the hanyou brought the ice coated sword off of his shoulder to before his body. Bringing it back, he readied it as the miko finally reached him and slashed out at him with her blade. Parrying her attack, his sword made contact with the backend of her blade, just a few inches above the guard. For a moment, nothing happened, until suddenly the miko's blade began creaking and popping loudly. Without warning, the miko's blade broke at the point where the hanyou had struck, sending the heavy chunk of metal to the ground and clanging lightly.

Surprised and gasping, the miko leapt backwards to look at the few inches she had left of her sword with a shocked and saddened look. Grasping the hilt of her sword tightly, she threw a heated glare at the hanyou, who portrayed no emotions on his face, other than serenity.

Reversing his blade's transformation back into it's smaller sword form, the hanyou sheathed his sword and calmly said "This battle is over. I trust you know that."

Turning away, the hanyou couldn't help but whimper in his mind as pain flared up his left shoulder. Placing his right hand over the wound, he took a few steps away from the battlefield before coming to a stop.

"I swear to you on my honor, Priestess, that I did not attack that village's livestock. I am many things, but a thief, no. My father raised me better."

"What would a half breed know of honor?" the miko ground out with her eyes downcast and her bangs shadowing her eyes.

Turning to face the priestess, Iya retorted "My name is Iya Taisho, son of the former Demon Lord of the West, Inutaisho Taisho."

Hearing a small gasp, the dog hanyou continued on, saying "If I committed such a heinous crime, I would be tarnishing not only my own name, but the name of my father. Obviously, I would never do so, for that would bring shame upon the memory of my father. Believe me when I say I had nothing to do with that attack on the village."

Finishing, the dog hanyou began moving away from the battlefield once more, leaving a stunned and silent miko behind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You left her there, alone and unarmed!?" Uryū fiercely questioned.

Sighing slightly, Iya nodded his head silently replied "I realize that, but I just figured she'd just mope around for a while and then go back to whatever village she came from."

Releasing another sigh, the dog hanyou added "Little did I know I was so wrong."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Still clutching his wound tightly, the black haired dog hanyou couldn't help but let out a dejected sigh while removing his hand for a moment to see if the wound had stopped bleeding. Finding his hand was still coated in a fresh layer of his crimson life force, he returned his hand and clutched the wound tightly.

"Damn, she was more trouble than I thought she'd be. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. Sesshomaru would have had a good laugh at me for being wounded by a human like that."

Sniffing the air, the hanyou stopped in his tracks. Inhaling the scents around him, he frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the direction he had been walking from.

"_Those scents I'm picking up, they're human, but there is a demon mixed in with them. I can differentiate at least eleven scents, and the strongest is a demon, I'm sure of it. They must have found that priestess. I wonder if she can even protect herself without her weapons..._"

Remaining still for a moment, Iya suddenly felt the sword on his hip pulsate once. Realizing why it was, he let out a heavy sigh and turned around and slowly began walking back the way he had come.

In a gruff tone, he muttered "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearing a commotion ahead, the hanyou slowly began to pick up speed. He had only been a few miles away when he had picked up the scent of the humans and the lone demon, but the closer he got, the more his blood boiled. The air carried to him the scent of blood that belonged to a human, as well as the scent of charred flesh.

"_That miko must be able to fight hand to hand using her miko powers. Even if she is, against eleven enemies, she'd stand no chance. I need to hurry._"

Picking up his pace another notch, the hanyou moved into a full speed sprint. Grimacing from the fact his wound was sending pain flaring up and down his left shoulder again, he pushed it to the back of his mind and concentrated on the sounds and scents ahead.

Breathing in the scents, the hanyou's brow immediately furrowed. "_I'm picking up a single demon among the group. He smells like a bull demon. Just my luck..._"

Hearing screams and cries of protest much clearer now, the hanyou heard the young miko screaming out "LET ME GO YOU BASTARDS! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

"She's a lively one, isn't she boys?"

"Rip the rest of those clothes off! I want to see what she looks like and get a taste!"

Hearing screaming and protesting from the miko, the hanyou also picked up the sound of clothing ripping. Grimacing mentally at the thoughts of what the men were getting ready to do, the hanyou pushed his body towards the outer limits of his ability to handle pain, only to have a mental image of a young woman laying on the ground near him with bloody claw marks and blood covering her body, and tattered clothing laying nearby.

"Not until I've had my fill of her. Just get her tied up. That little bitch used her powers on me, but I can tell that she's pretty weak at the moment. Looks like someone took the pleasure of disarming her and wearing her out for us."

The voice of what Iya decided was the bull demon's woke him from his thoughts, forcing him to focus on the task at hand. "_No, this isn't like what happened in the past. No matter what, I must reach her!_"

Hearing laughing of the men and the panicked cries of the miko, the dog hanyou finally burst through a line of trees to find the group of men and the same miko he had fought previously. Her clothing was missing but was nearby laying on the ground, ripped into nothing but rags, while five men held her down: one on each arm and leg, and another at her head that appeared to be pulling at his own clothing. On her stomach, there was a deep looking gash with blood coming from it, and another deep wound on her right upper arm that looked to go to the bone.

Seeing one man sitting between the legs of the miko and beginning to pull his pants off, Iya determined that was the bull demon, but disguised in a human form. Without a second thought, he brought his index and middle finger together and released his blue laser whip at the man, purposely aiming for his head.

Before the whip could hit, the man rolled out of the way, allowing the whip to hit nothing but thin air. Not wanting to hit the miko, the hanyou quickly recalled his whip while casting a glare at his missed target.

Watching the man he had missed come to rest and grab a large battleaxe that was on a hilt that was six feet in length and slowly began standing back up, the hanyou got a better look at him. He had long dark brown hair that reached his mid-back in length, sinister looking red eyes, and a large muscular build. His clothing was a pair of tight fitting black brown pants and a dark red kimono top that looked like the color of blood.

Glaring at the hanyou, the man snorted out "Insolent half breed, I'll kill you for interrupting me."

"Step away from her if you value your lives." Iya stated in a firm voice that didn't waver. "You will not defile her."

Sneering, the man with the dark red top smartly asked "Is that so? I take it you're the one she was fighting before. Yes, I can smell your blood. She was fighting you and you so kindly disarmed her for us, which I am appreciative of. If not for that, she'd have been more irritating to capture."

"Leave and I'll let you and your men live. Choose to stay and I cannot guarantee I won't kill you or them."

Laughing loudly, the man wearing the dark red top smugly replied "As if you could kill me, Kusajishi! You are nothing but a half breed, and a weakly one from the looks of it."

Unfazed by the words of the bull demon masquerading as a human, the dog hanyou firmly responded with "I would not underestimate me. It is true, I am but a half demon, but I am also one of the heirs to the Western Lands. I am Iya Taisho, son of the former Western Lord, Inutaisho Taisho, and the half brother of the current Lord of the West, Sesshomaru Taisho. I advise you not to take me lightly."

"So, you're the bastard child of the former Western Lord, eh?" Kusajishi questioned in an amused tone. "Good, once I kill you, that'll prove just how strong I am. Although, it will be a bit of a marred victory, seeing how you're already wounded. But then again, no one has to know some weakling human hurt you first."

Watching a bit of blood leak down from the hanyou's shoulder to the ground, the man wearing the dark red top darkly chuckled, saying "You won't last long in this fight. You're already half dead from your fight with that miko bitch. Once I'm done stomping you into the ground, I'll show her a really good time."

Remaining silent, the dog hanyou slowly lowered his head till his eyes hid beneath the shadows of his bangs. Watching this, the men holding the young miko down still glanced from one another. Carefully, they picked up the miko and dragged her a short distance away, only to press her up against a tree roughly, making her scream out in protest.

One of the men, who was bald with a bad scar down his right cheek, began inching forward towards the miko and reached out to touch her between her legs. Screaming louder and struggling more, the miko attempted to break free, only to be held firmly by the other men.

Seeing this, one of the other men spoke up, saying "You'd better not do that. The boss will kill you if you mess with her first. You know how he is about his women."

"I don't care. He's busy with that half breed." the bald man countered with a sneer.

Looking into the eyes of the miko, the bald man saw fear and anger swirling within her crimson orbs. Reaching out and cupping the miko's cheek, the bald man watched her snap at him with her teeth, only to miss. With a firm hand, he slapped her cheek, making her cringe but not cry out in pain.

"Worthless bitch, I'll teach you to…"

Before the bald man could finish his sentence, he screamed out in pain as blood went spraying about onto the other men and the nude miko. Falling to his knees, the bald man cried out in pain as his right arm fell to the ground, completely unattached from his body.

All of the men, along with Kusajishi, turned to find a blue energy whip retracting to the outstretched hand of the dog hanyou. With his eyes still shadowed by his bangs, the hanyou said in a low, but dangerous tone "If you want to live, I suggest all of you don't touch her and let her go."

"Don't release her." Kusajishi declared, causing his men to remain where they stood. "That half breed may have maimed him, but I'd have done the same. He was about to go against my command. Tie her up and keep her fresh till I'm tone with that half breed. Oh, and don't bother to help him out. He got what he deserved."

The group looked down at their comrade, who was laying on the ground, bleeding heavily and writhing in pain. Looking from one another, the men nodded mutely, seemingly agreeing to obey their leader's words. One of the men handed a rope to the closest one and the tied the miko's hands behind her back and laid her back down onto the ground.

Smirking arrogantly at the fact his men obeyed him, Kusajishi hotly spoke up, saying "You'll pay for maiming that man. Though I'd have done it myself, no one harms them but me. Are you ready to die, half breed?"

"I ask you once more to leave. No harm will befall you or your men if you leave now." Iya coldly spoke up without revealing his eyes still.

Chuckling darkly, the bull demon masquerading as a human replied "You are so foolish to think I'll leave because you asked, half breed. Now die!"

Racing forward with his axe drawn to his right side, the brown haired man watched as the hanyou simply stood in the same place. Without warning, the dog hanyou raised his head, revealing hardened muddy eyes. Unperturbed, the brown haired man swung at the dog hanyou, only to have his target duck his swing.

Slashing out with his right hand, the dog hanyou attempted to strike the demon pretending to be a human. Missing by mere inches, the hanyou quickly spun on his right foot and attempted to slash at the brown haired man again, only to miss once more. Pulling back, the brown haired man turned his axe towards the hanyou's head, only to have the hanyou roll to his right at the last moment.

"You have a few impressive moves. I'll acknowledge that much, half breed." Kusajishi commented with a smirk.

Staring down the brown haired man, Iya calmly replied "Give up this battle. I can't guarantee what I'll do if you don't."

Letting out a snort, the demon masquerading as a human grunted out "You're a fool to think I'll quit a fight in which I have the upper hand."

Remaining quiet for a moment, the dog hanyou reached out and touched his left shoulder for a moment with his right hand. Without warning, icy steam began forming on the tips of his claws. Bit by bit, ice began forming over the hole in the hanyou's left shoulder, seemingly sealing the wound up. Finishing, the dog hanyou reached over and grabbed his left hand and pulled it up to his chest before repeating the same process, effectively freezing his hand to his body.

At last done with his task, Iya drew his sword, sparking it's transformation immediately. "If you won't listen to reason, I have no choice. I hate senseless battles, but if you wish to fight, then so be it. No longer will I hold back."

"We'll see, half breed."


	3. Chapter 3: Trust and Betrayl

**Hello again everyone! Well, the last few weeks have been so hectic. First, my dad and I finished putting up all the hay over at his house. I am ever so happy to be done with the hay for now. It was just an annoyance due that I'm so busy at work and in my home life, so good times are back once again. Secondly, work has been so hectic as of late. Our project is closing in on it's due date and I've been working my tail off on trying to finish up my stuff for it. I did lighten my load today by dumping two pages, but I still have a good bit of work to do on this stuff. Still, it's worth it, I suppose. Anyways, next week should be fun because my mate and I will be on vacation in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Ah, I can't wait for it. Ever since I was young, I've been there almost every year, and every year it just relaxes me so much, no matter what's going on. I'm looking so forward to just getting there and trying to take it easy, though that's questionable, hehe. My dad, step mom, step brother, and my uncle and his wife and son are going at the same time. Eh, I'll probably be alright since we're in separate places, but we're close enough to walk down to one another. At any rate, next week, I'll be gone and relaxing, and just maybe, I'll get a bit of writing done while I'm gone.**

**Writing wise, I'm trying to write any time I have some free time, but that's kind of hard to come by anymore, lol. Still, this story is still moving, so that's good. I hope to have this done by the end of September, maybe… I won't guarantee that one, because I'm unsure on it. We'll just have to see.**

**Moving along, it's time for reviews!**

**kartonthepegasus: Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you like this story as much as **_**Another**_**. That means a lot. I'll try and keep updating as frequently as I can, but for now, it's stuck at once every two weeks. Thanks for the review and adding this story to your favs!**

**kattana: Actually, Iya is only 300 years old, not 1000s. He turned 300 near the time that he went into heat in **_**Another**_**. But yes, he's met a lot of good and bad people in his travels over his lifetime, that is for sure. Hmm, good questions about why those three seem to be looking for him. Sounds fishy, don't it? Lol, does to me at least, hehe. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: Nah, I'm not mad at you over the email thing. If I came off as mad, then I'm sorry. I wasn't mad at all. Not even annoyed to be honest, hehe. Heh, I don't mind doing favors, so forget all about it. Yep, Ichigo was Iya's partner for about 20 years and up until the end of **_**Another**_**. Yes, a Quincy of all things, lol. Heh, the rest of Iya's tale is a tear jerker I suppose. I know what you mean about rapists really ticking people off. I hate them with a burning passion. If you can't find a woman/man that will willingly have sex with you, then just suck it up or hire a prostitute if you're that desperate. I wouldn't recommend the later of my options, but whatever floats your boat. But anyways, yes, a violation of any person in that manner is just horribly wrong. No one deserves that kind of pain and torture. Yes, Iya was there to try and help out, but how it'll turn out is still up in the air. Heh, yes, she seems rather stubborn about giving up or letting Iya help. Once more, no, that incident didn't cost you anything. Things like that happen. Thanks for the review!**

**Well, that's that for this week. Thank you, all three of you, for your reviews. I really appreciate them. I know, I always say that and I'm sure everyone hates hearing that, but it's the truth. If not for reviews, I would have no clue what people feel about the story, so I truly thank all of you for posting your thoughts and comments on my chapters. They are not ignored, but are revered for the aide they give me in my writing. And to any who has yet to review but want to, do feel free. I enjoy any kind of feedback that tells me how decent a job I'm doing, whether it's good or bad. I've only had 1 or 2 flames ever, with the first I talked out, and the other was just an idiot wasting his/her time. At any rate, all I'm saying is let me know what you think. Good or bad, I'll read it.**

**Until next time, I hope you all like this chapter. Till then, enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

Staring down the hanyou, the demon masquerading as a human shifted his left foot forward a little. Without warning, he charged forward, axe drawn vertically and ready at his right side. Watching this, the dog hanyou readied himself for the incoming attack. Swinging hard and horizontally, the man in the red top attempted to behead the hanyou, only to have the half demon take to the air. Coming downwards, the dog hanyou swung his halberd in a downwards slash, only to be blocked by the large battleaxe. Flipping backwards, the half demon landed on the ground but barely had a second to react as the man with the axe swung at him again, this time in a downwards strike. Raising his halberd horizontally above his head, the dog hanyou blocked the attack while lightly grunting from the tremendous force behind the axe, making him sink an inch into the ground.

Grinding his axe against the large sword for a few more moments, the man wielding the axe was shocked when he was suddenly sent skidding backwards by the force of the hanyou pushing him away. Coming to a stop, the demon masquerading as a human sneered at his opponent.

"Impressive, half breed. I didn't think you had enough strength to fight me in your weakened state, but I see there is plenty of fight within you yet." Kusajishi commented.

Not receiving an answer, Kusajishi added "This fight has dragged on for long enough. I could continue to toy with you, but I desire to take that woman more than to fight you. After all, just the sight of her flesh is driving me wild and making me hard."

"You disgusting bastard, I'll make sure you never touch her or anyone else ever again." Iya ground out with anger and disgust reflecting in his eyes.

Unfazed by the hanyou's declaration, the man in the red top remarked "It's been a while since I've had to release my true form. I suppose it can't be helped though. Oh well, I'll enjoy killing you in it. You may have had a chance against me in this form, but in my true form, you will fall at my feet in mere moments, begging me for death."

Hearing nothing come out of the hanyou's mouth, Kusajishi smirked, saying "Behold my true form."

Glowing with a dark red aura, the man in the dark red top growled lowly as his body slowly began to grow in height, while his upper body seemed to grow outwards. The red top covering his chest ripped open to reveal dark brown fur. His biceps grew in size as well, with each becoming covered in fur. The pants he wore ripped slightly, leaving only a bit of the clothing that ran from his lower waist to just above his knees while a long tail grew out from behind him that looked whip like with a small tuft of dark brown fur on the end. Both of his legs grew hair also. The man's hair suddenly grew in length, but seemed to grow onto his back also. A pair of horns sprouted from his forehead, each pushed out to the side and ivory in color with sharp points on the ends. The man's face contorted as slowly, it reshaped with his nose pushing out and becoming round, with his jaw reaching out to meet it. His eyes spread apart slightly and became a darker shade of red with black filling his corneas.

At long last seemingly done with his transformation, the bull demon looked up at the dog hanyou and snorted loudly, smirking while doing so. "Impressed by what you see, pup?"

"Hardly." Iya stiffly remarked. "You became uglier. Whether that's an improvement or not, I can't say."

Releasing a loud boisterous laugh, Kusajishi smugly replied "You have been amusing half breed, but the time for fun has come to an end. Prepare to die."

Watching the bull demon charge him, the hanyou readied himself for the oncoming attack. The attack came hard and fast, with the bull demon slamming his axe downwards at the dog hanyou's head. Using his sword to parry, Iya felt the entire weight and strength of the bull demon slamming into Ketsaiga, making the ground beneath him give way and force him down several inches. The force of the blow itself was enough to make his right arm begin shaking as the bull continued to press his full strength onto the blade, making the hanyou's right arm begin sliding back towards his body.

"You will never hold me back, half breed." the bull demon boasted while pushing his advantage.

Breaking out into a sweat, the dog hanyou released a throaty roar as he pushed the attack back and backed away to a safe seven foot gap. Panting lightly while glaring at the bull demon, the hanyou saw the bull charging him quickly, not allowing him to rest for long. Retreating from the horizontal swing of the bull, the dog hanyou couldn't help but see a smirk on the bull's face.

"Extend!"

Confused at the words of the bull demon, the dog hanyou gasped in shock as the axe suddenly began growing longer. Just a few inches beneath the blade of the axe, the handle began releasing the section that appeared to be tied together by a chain. At the same time, with only a few feet from the bottom of the hilt, another section broke free with the same chain holding it together.

Watching the axe blade race past his head, the hanyou quickly realized that the battleaxe had momentum swinging it back towards the bull demon. This in mind, the hanyou quickly raised his sword to beside of his head, just in time to keep the large axe from slamming into his right cheek. Grazing off of the blade, the axe continued forward a bit and managed to barely graze the hanyou's right cheek.

Retreating a bit further this time, the dog hanyou dug his sword into the ground and reached up to feel his cheek where the axe had struck him. Finding a trace of blood, the hanyou frowned and kept his eyes trained on the bull demon, who was triumphantly smirking at him.

"Impressive, yeah?" Kusajishi taunted. "My axe was especially made for long range combat for when the enemy decides to cowardly lay back, thinking they're safe from my reach. Do you see now half breed that you stand no chance?"

Remaining quiet for a moment, Iya slowly spoke up, saying "I will admit, that is an impressive weapon, but it won't make a difference in the end."

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing, half breed." the bull demon snorted while bringing his axe up before himself. "It's time this battle ended with your death, half breed! Here I come!"

Keeping his eyes trained on the charging bull demon, the dog hanyou gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand. Drawing it from the ground, he brought it back before his body in a ready position. Swinging his axe downwards, the bull demon aimed his weapon at the hanyou's head, only to have the hanyou leap backwards during mid-swing.

Smirking, the bull demon smugly called out "Die half breed! Extend!"

Upon command, the axe suddenly broke into three sections, with the blade extending towards the half demon at rapid speed. At the last second, the dog hanyou side-stepped the blade and raced towards the bull demon at an incredible rate of speed. Shocked, the bull tried to pull his axe back into a single weapon, only to realize it was too late with the dog hanyou only a few feet from himself and his blade raised above his head while white demonic energy seemed to wrap around the blade of his sword.

"This battle ends right now! Wind Slash!"

Swinging his sword downwards, Iya unleashed a powerful blast of white demonic energy that slammed into Kusajishi, making him howl out in pain. The blast continued to assault the bull demon for a few more moments before pushing him backwards and slamming him against a nearby tree, which broke upon impact and sent him backwards into another two trees before coming to rest. Dust and debris filled the air, hiding the results of the battle while the sound of a few trees hitting the ground filled the area.

Slowly, the dust settled, revealing the bull demon had partially smashed through another tree before coming to rest. His body was a bloody mess, with wounds pouring out his crimson life force, but it was already apparent that the bull had met his demise from not only the impact of the trees, but the blast itself.

"Boss…" a few of the men mumbled in complete shock and fear.

Casting his fierce muddy brown eyes onto the group of men still surrounding the wounded miko, Iya growled out "Leave now and never return to these lands."

Many of the men immediately ran for their lives, only to be stopped by the fierce voice of the hanyou, yelling "And take that wounded man with you. I want him gone."

A few men quickly obeyed the hanyou and picked up the man missing his right arm. Carefully, the men lifted their wounded comrade and left the battlefield as quick as possible.

With all the men gone, the hanyou sheathed his sword and quietly padded over to the wounded miko, who stared at him with eyes filling with fear. Keeping his eyes trained on the miko's face, Iya let out a soft sigh and moved behind her. Flexing his right hand, he effortlessly cut the ropes that bound her with a single sweep of his claws. Moving back before her and keeping his eyes glued on her face, he reached up to his left arm with his right hand and gently touched it. The ice surrounding it slowly vanished, freeing it and allowing it to fall to his left side, making him wince from the pain. Reaching up once more, he touched his left shoulder, but hesitated for a moment before removing the ice. Warm blood washed down from the wound immediately, staining his black haori a crimson color.

Ignoring the pain the best he could, the dog hanyou pulled his haori off with one hand, gritting his teeth from the pain when he pulled his left arm out. Fully off his body, he reached it to the miko while avoiding her gaze.

"Here, you can wear this."

Confused, the red haired miko looked at the blood stained haori for a moment before glancing back at the hanyou. Seeing he was refusing to look at her, she looked at the haori once more before softly asking "Why did you come back, you had no obligation to?"

"Please just take it. We can talk once I've taken care of our wounds. That is unless you'd rather keep sitting there naked and bleed to death."

Hesitating for a moment, the miko finally reached out and took the haori from the hanyou's extended hand. Cringing as she stood, she stumbled forward, only to fall against the chest of the dog hanyou.

Looking up into his eyes, she saw no ill will in the muddy brown depths, only what seemed worry and concern. Brow furrowed, she stepped away and turned around. Quickly, she slipped the blood soaked haori on and tied it shut. Dressed once more, she turned to face the hanyou, only to feel her body beginning to sway. Before she could do or say anything, she passed out on her feet and began to fall forward, but not before being caught by the hanyou once more.

Staring down at the unconscious miko, Iya sighed, muttering "Figures you'd pass out on me. I guess I'll just have to carry you."

Carefully, he tossed her over his shoulder and walked over to where the remains of her clothing sat. Looking them over, he sighed once more.

"Looks like your clothes are no more. I guess I can use these rags for some bandages at the least."

Picking them up best he could one handed while trying to hold onto the unconscious miko, the hanyou finally was content with the pile he had and picked it up. Back on his feet, as gently as possible, he began running along in the direction he had come from earlier. Sniffing the air, he picked up the scent of rain, making him curse softly under his breath.

Taking a look up at the sky, he quickened his pace, muttering "I should have known it was going to rain. I'll just have to find a cave quickly and start taking care of those wounds."

Searching the area quickly as possible, the hanyou felt the wind pick up and small droplets of water begin falling onto his head. Spying a small cavern ahead, he picked up his pace, only to be rewarded with a spike of pain flaring up his arm.

Entering into the cave just as the rain began falling harder, the dog hanyou looked around, finding some dry firewood that was left over from someone's previous stay. Looking about the cave, he found a large flat rock up next to the wall and carefully lowered the miko down on to it. Pulling his sword out of his obi, he laid it against the wall before untying his sash and slowly, but painfully, pulling his inner white kimono top off. With it off, he wadded it up so the bloody portion of it was facing downwards and carefully lifted the miko's head up and gently slid the discarded top under her head.

"That should be better than laying on the stone, I suppose." Iya mused aloud.

Glancing at his shoulder wound, the dog hanyou stifled a yelp of pain when he reached up and touched it gently with is right hand. Hearing a light coughing, the hanyou returned his attention to the miko to find she had her eyes weakly cracked open and was looking up at him with her crimson orbs.

Softly smiling, the hanyou padded over to her and fell to one knee and asked "Are you alright?"

Remaining quiet for a few moments, the red haired miko finally whispered "I'm thirsty."

"Just hold on a moment and I'll get you some water."

Standing, the dog hanyou began walking towards the opening of the cave, but came to a stop when he realized something. "_I don't have any cups on me. I broke the last one a few days ago… Just great, now what?_"

Mauling over a few ideas for a moment, Iya at last gave up and walked out into the rain. Finding a bowl shaped like rock nearby that was full of water already, he picked it up and dumped the water out. It soon filled back up with water from the sky, which he quickly took back inside.

Sensing the hanyou return before herself, the miko cracked her eyes open, only to suppress a gasp of shock. He was kneeling before her, holding a flat bowel like rock full of water, but the surprising part was he was soaked to the bone, his bangs seemingly plastered to his face.

"It's raining outside." Iya informed the miko, whose facial expression told him all he needed to know that she was curious why he was wet. "Can you sit up?"

Attempting to do as asked, the miko couldn't help but whimper when she felt like her right side was on fire where her wound was. Without warning, she felt a strong wet arm shift her into a sitting position, only to have it replaced by a wet, but warm, skin bracing her up. Shifting slightly to see the hanyou had moved behind her and was using his chest as a prop to hold her up, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in her heart.

"Why are you doing this?"

Brow furrowing at the question from the red haired miko, Iya let out a small sigh, saying "It doesn't matter at the moment. What does matter is I get you some water, and then treat your wounds. Can you drink the water on your own?"

Weakly nodding, the miko reached out and took hold of the stone bowel that was sitting next to her and raised it to her lips. Slowly, she drank down the cool water till she finally had to come up for air. Lightly coughing, she set the bowel back down by her side.

"Is that enough?" the hanyou asked with concern.

Seeing the miko nod her head, the hanyou gently laid her back down onto the stone slap and stood back up. Looking down at her, he let out a light sigh before softly saying "I need to tend to your wounds. Unfortunately, I don't have any thing with me to bind your wounds, other than the remains of your clothing that I can use for bandages. Even though I could do that, your wounds need cleaned out, and there is only one thing that I can do for that since I have no herbs with me."

Noting the look of hesitation on his face, the miko began to speak, only to be cut off when the dog hanyou spoke once more. "When a dog demon is injured or helping an injured person, they can lick their wounds. Their saliva can close up wounds and help with speeding up the healing process. Since I have no herbs, and nor likely to be able to find any in time to help you, I don't have much choice but to clean your wound by licking it."

Silence enveloped the pair for a few moments before Iya quietly said "I know this sounds very personal and possibly wrong, but it's all I know to do to save you. Please, I don't want you to die. If I knew another way, I would."

Not receiving an answer, the hanyou chanced a look into the miko's eyes. The crimson orbs seemed to have a dark swirl to them, as if she was unsure of what to think of his words. Before he could speak again, she slowly spoke up.

"I think I can trust you. You can clean my wounds, but once you're done, you will answer my questions."

Lightly smiling, Iya nodded, saying "I agree to that. Just give me a moment and we'll start."

Earning himself a nod in reply, the hanyou moved away from the red headed miko and picked up the bowel shaped rock. Walking outside, he refilled it full of water and soon returned. Picking up the scraps of clothing he had brought with him, he carefully and agonizingly slowly began cutting them into strips. Setting them down onto the floor next to the miko, he grabbed the water bowel and set it close by too before returning to her side.

Reaching forward with hesitant hands, the dog hanyou slowly began undoing the knot the miko had made to keep the black haori fastened to her body. With it undone, he peeled it open, keeping his eyes focused on her wounds alone. Chancing a glance at the miko's face, he saw that she was looking away, seemingly silently brooding. Returning to the task at hand, he dipped one of the strips he had kept in his hand into the bowel of water. Wringing out the cloth the best he could with one hand, the hanyou softly touched the wound on her stomach.

Getting no reaction, Iya carefully cleaned around the wound before placing the cloth back within the water. Inching forward, he moved till he was finally over top of her wound with his mouth. Carefully, he leaned forward and placed his tongue within the wound, earning him a shiver from the miko on contact. Slowly and carefully, the dog hanyou licked around the outside of the wound, attempting to keep his mind focused on his task.

After nearly five minutes, the hanyou pulled back and reached for a nearby rag. Looking the miko in the face, he softly said "I need to sit you back up so I can bandage the wounds."

The miko snapped out her thoughts instantly and meekly nodded her head. With the hanyou's help, she moved into a sitting position, but not without grimacing from the pain of her wounds. Moving behind her to help support and hold her up, the hanyou quickly began to bandage the wounds while being mindful of where his hands were. Finishing, he carefully laid the miko back onto the stone.

Examining the next wound he had to take care of, the hanyou couldn't help but frown while blush at the same time. The wound was on her right arm and was rather deep.

"_To reach her, I'm going to have to be closer to her chest than I want to be. Kami, please let her understand and not beat the hell out of me for thinking I'm trying to get fresh._"

Seeing the hanyou was hesitant to move, the miko couldn't help but notice the blush on his cheeks. Confused, the miko narrowed her eyes, asking "Is there a problem?"

"Well…" Iya slowly stammered out. "It's just that, your second wound, it's on your right side."

"And what of it?"

Feeling his cheeks begin to burn, the hanyou looked away, muttering "To reach your wounds, I have to be over top of your chest…"

Realization hit the red headed woman instantly, but she pushed away the thoughts that she knew the hanyou must be having. Steeling herself and forcing her mind to push away the thoughts she knew her companion must be having, she replied as calmly as possible "Just take care of my wound and forget about it."

A bit shocked, but reassured by the miko's answer, the dog hanyou mutely nodded and carefully moved forward, making sure that his upper body did not touch the miko's. Carefully, with the wet rag he held, he cleaned around the wound before moving forward and licking the wound like he had with the previous one. Satisfied after a few minutes that it was sealed shut, he pulled away and placed the rag back into the bowel of water.

Grabbing a few strips of cloth to bind the miko's wounds, Iya gently set the miko up into a sitting position and moved behind her like before. Carefully and quietly, he began bandaging the wounds till finally he was done. Gently, he laid the red haired miko back down onto the stone slab.

"You should tend to your own wounds before they get worse."

Realizing he had yet to take care of them, Iya nodded and grabbed the nearby rag and bowel of water. After ten minutes, he had finished patching up his wounds.

Noticing the miko shiver slightly, the hanyou quickly picked up some small kindling that someone had left behind and began a fire. It soon roared to life, bringing warmth into the small cave while the smoke poured out of it's entrance.

Sitting down and leaning up against the rock wall near the miko, the dog hanyou yawned and slowly slid his eyes shut. Before he could even think of sleeping, the miko spoke up.

"You said you would answer my questions."

Opening his muddy brown eyes once more, Iya softly replied "You're right, I did. Go ahead and ask whatever you want."

Remaining quiet for a moment while staring at the ceiling of the cave, the red haired woman quietly asked "Why are you doing this? You had no obligation to let me live in our fight, not after I had wounded you from behind like that. And by the same account, you had no reason to come back and aide me against those brutes and that bull demon. So please, tell me why."

Staring at the fire in the middle of the cave, the hanyou watched the flames dance about. After a few moments, he finally replied "Because I made a promise long ago…"

Knowing she was confused by his words, the hanyou added "You see, when I was only fifteen years old, I did something terrible to my best friend. My demon nature took from her what I can never replace."

"Not long after that, I received that sword." Iya stated while pointing at the sword propped up next to him. "When I received Ketsaiga, I made a vow upon it. I promised to protect all those that were precious to me, and to protect any who could not protect themselves. I would not be afraid of death if it meant that those that I protected would live on. I still hold true to that promise and will never break it."

"You had no reason to not kill me…" the miko flatly commented. "I wasn't in need of protection at that time. All I wanted was to kill you, so you had every right to kill me. So why didn't you kill me?"

Sadly smiling, the hanyou quietly remarked "I don't kill humans if I can help it. I've only killed a few in my lifetime, and those were bandits who I had caught a few times in the act and who had tried to kill other people. Besides that, my father taught me at an early age not to kill humans. After all, I'm part human, and so was my mother."

Mulling over the words of the dog hanyou for a silent minute, the miko let out a small sigh while fighting to hold back tears brimming in her eyes. "I didn't always hate demons. When I was a little girl, I kind of envied them. They seemed so close to gods to me when I was a child, and I had wished more than anything to be like them."

"Then a pack of them attacked my village when I was a little girl." the red haired miko whispered. "My parents, they had hid me in a small shed surrounded by incense, hoping that it would hide my scent from the demons. They tried to reason with the demons once I was hid, even going so far as to offer themselves as a prize for the demons to take away and leave the village. Instead, they killed my father and raped my mother, but not before killing her in the end."

Closing her eyes and letting a few tears stray down the sides of her face, the miko softly whimpered out "I can still hear their screams clearly to this day. All I could do was listen to them in agony. Eventually, the demons left and I came out to find the remains of my family and village. I was devastated to find no one was left alive."

"I swore to myself that day, I would kill every demon I came across after that." the miko icily stated. "I swore that I would never let another child go through that."

Taking a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes, the miko stonily added "Within a day of my vow, a priest came through and found me. He raised and trained me to become a miko. Once I had reached an age in which I could leave his protection, I set out and began killing any and all demons. Ever since, I have hunted demons, killing any I came across. Eventually, I found hanyous, but they received no mercy from me either."

"But then I met you…"

"And now you're completely confused by my actions." Iya finished.

"Yes… How can you willingly risk yourself to protect someone who tried to kill you?"

Sitting in silence for only a few moments, the hanyou calmly replied "I do it because I remember that promise I told you of. I remember the pain I felt when I realized the wrongs that I committed against my friend, and how I wanted to correct my mistake. I also remember that I never want anyone to go through that same pain that I felt over my mistake."

Pondering on the words of the hanyou for a long moment, the miko quietly said "Thank you, for saving me."

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't have needed saved if I hadn't of disarmed you."

Softly smiling, the miko replied "But I attacked you first. When those men attacked me after you left, I thought that was it, I was going to die. Then you showed back up, not even caring that you were already wounded. You risked your life for me, and that is something I would have never done. Still, you did it, without a second thought of how badly injured you were."

Still staring at the fire, the hanyou glanced over at the miko and saw she was looking at him with her crimson orbs that now seemed to hold warmth in them and a small smile on her face. Smiling back, Iya asked "If it's not too much trouble, would you share with me your name?"

"My name is Nariko."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"For the next six days, we spent that time together, healing and recovering from our wounds, while getting to know one another and becoming good friends. Her wounds had healed over by then and she was able to move about with no pain. As for my own wounds, they had healed within four days, which was slower than normal, but I had expected it since Nariko had used her miko energy when she had attacked me. It helped though that she used her miko powers after two days to help our wounds recover a bit faster."

Remaining quiet for a few moments, Uryū quietly remarked "I see. So, she overcame her hatred for demons and became your friend?"

Nodding, Iya lightly smiled, saying "Nariko and I became fast friends once she understood me and I understood her. Once we had healed up, I let her borrow both my kimono tops so she could venture into a nearby village. I gave her what money I had carried on me, allowing her to go in and buy some new clothing, along with a new bow, a quiver of arrows, and a place an order for a new sword. She was rather grateful for it and offered to repay me, but I turned her down, seeing how I had been the one to destroy her weapons in the first place."

"I hung around with her for another day till finally I knew it was time to leave. Before leaving one another's company, she told me that from then on, she would not be quick to judge a demon, but would attempt to listen to one's words. She planned on staying and protecting the village where the hanyou had killed some of the livestock."

Glancing up at the sky, he added "I promised her that I'd come back and see her whenever I could, and we each made a promise to never forget one another. We then went our separate ways, with me continuing to trail The Thirteen and her protecting that village."

Silence enveloped the pair for a minute before the young Quincy spoke up, asking "What became of her?"

"Well, for two years, she protected the village. I came back to see her when I could, which was maybe a few times a year, four at most. On my next to last visit to see her, during the winter, she told me she was engaged to be married to a man within the village."

Sadly smiling, the young man with brown eyes quietly said "I was so happy for her when I found out. Before leaving, I wished her the best of luck."

"I returned on my last visit to see her during the middle of the summer. She was already married and still protecting the village. If only I had known what would befall her, I'd have never returned…"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking towards the village on the horizon, the dog hanyou couldn't help but smile when he picked up the scent of jasmine and fresh cut lilies, but of something else mixed in with the familiar scent. Frowning, he took a second whiff and determined there was something definitely mixed in with her scent.

"_It smells slightly like her mate, but not quite. It's like her scent and his mixed together, but that don't make much sense… Unless…_"

Picking up his pace into a light jog, the dog hanyou neared the location of a small hut on the outskirts of the village. Arriving at last, he scanned the area before finding that there was only one person in the area around the hut. Walking to the back of the hut, he found a familiar red haired former miko, wearing a simple dark purple kimono, working in a small garden. Hearing his footsteps approaching, she finished with the work she was doing and stood up before turning to face him and slightly bowing.

"Iya."

Returning her bow, the hanyou quietly replied "Nariko."

Finishing with their formalities, the pair smiled, with the miko rushing forward and the pair embracing in a hug. Pulling apart, the pair moved to the porch of the hut and sat down close to one another.

"How have you been?"

Revealing a brilliant smile, the former miko replied "I've been good. My husband and I have been working hard to find a way to protect the village since I lost my miko powers, but we have a few ideas that I think will work. How about yourself?"

"I've been better. I lost the trail of The Thirteen once again, so I'm back to looking for information on them. I hate playing this game of cat and mouse, but I have no choice until they decide to stand their ground and fight with me."

"I see." Nariko murmured. Smiling slightly, she added "I wish you the best of luck on finding them."

Returning her smile with a warm one of his own, Iya softly asked "Tell me, how are you and your husband getting along?"

"Rather well. At times, he surprises me completely by how wonderful he is. I feel like I've been in a dream since we've gotten married."

Smiling once more, the hanyou asked "Have the two of you thought about children?"

Nodding, the former miko replied "We've talked about it, but we also decided that we'll need to wait to have them until we can find a permanent solution to protecting the village. Once we've found a way, we'll probably settle down more and have a few children. Why do you ask?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Iya inwardly groaned at the awkward feelings that were rising up within him. Steeling his nerves, he inhaled the air around the pair, reassuring him that his earlier first thoughts that the miko's scent had changed were correct.

"What's wrong?" Nariko asked, confused and worried by the storm of emotions that seemed to emanate from the dog hanyou.

Waking from his brooding, the hanyou quietly replied "Well, it's just that, your scent has changed."

"My scent has changed? Are you sure you're not just smelling my husband on me, because we are around one another quite often."

Shaking his head softly, the dog hanyou remarked "I can smell your husband's scent on you, yes, but that's not what I'm talking about. I can smell both his and your scents mixed together, but it's not your scent I'm picking up. It's another's."

Glancing over to see confusion in the eyes of the miko, the hanyou bluntly said "You're pregnant. I smell the baby's scent."

"Oh…" the former miko murmured. Remaining quiet for a moment, her eyes widened and she exclaimed "Wait, what!?"

Pinning his ears back to drown out the sudden outburst, Iya softly replied "You're with child, Nariko. That's why your scent is different."

Frowning, she silently asked "Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure. When my father took his last mate, I noticed the same thing with her. Without warning, her scent shifted, with the scent of her and my father seemingly mixing together, but not on the outside of her body, but within. My father explained to me that that was the scent of when a woman was pregnant."

Processing the words of the dog hanyou for a long few moments, the former miko suddenly felt tears rolling down her cheeks. Reaching up, she felt them but couldn't help but smile. "I'm going to be a mother…"

Nodding slightly, Iya warmly replied "Yes, you are. I'm sure that you'll be a terrific mother."

"Thank you, Iya." Nariko commented while reaching out and squeezing his hand.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping a stony face, the young Quincy reached up and pushed his glasses back up his nose, saying "That was kind of you to let her know she was pregnant."

"I suppose, but what came of it is the problem…" Iya weakly commented.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quietly walking down the dirt road with nothing but the blue sky above his head, the dog hanyou couldn't help but smile. He had just left the village where the former miko lived and still felt the joy and happiness the young woman had shown him upon her finding out she was pregnant with her first child.

"_She'll make a wonderful mother._" Iya commented within his mind while still smiling. "_I don't think I've ever seen her that happy before. I just hope her husband takes the news well also._"

Feeling the wind picking up and hitting his back, the hanyou lifted his nose and inhaled the scents within it, only to come to an abrupt stop. Spinning around with his eyes wide and a silent gasp falling, he sniffed the air once more, only to confirm his first whiff. Breaking into a breakneck pace, he ran back towards the village that was only a few miles behind himself.

"_What could have happened!? I didn't detect any demons when I left! Could a few have snuck in when I wasn't noticing? No, I'd have picked up their scents and auras immediately. Then why… why can I smell Nariko's blood in the air!?_"

Not sparing any speed, the hanyou soon was able to see the outskirts of the village, with what looked like a few men on the outside of the hut standing around. Paying no heed, he pushed onwards and finally reached his destination.

Following his nose, he leapt over the men and hit the ground, only to find the red haired woman laying on the ground before her hut. She had a sword sticking out of her back, right about where her heart would be. Blood was pouring from her mouth and pooling under her figure, staining her kimono with her crimson life force.

Ignoring the man that hovered directly behind her, the hanyou dropped to his knees before the former miko and reached out to her neck. Finding a small pulse, the dog hanyou began to say something, only to hear the miko talking in a raspy voice.

"I'm… not… going to… make it. I'm so… sorry… Iya…"

"Shh, don't talk Nariko." Iya firmly replied. "Just lay still, I'll fix you up."

Not receiving a response, the hanyou reached for the sword that was plunged in her back and grabbed the hilt gently. Grasping the hilt tightly, he quickly jerked it out, only to allow a spray of blood to pour out of the wound that was left. Casting it aside, he carefully rolled her over onto her back and saw that the sword had pierced completely through her chest and into the ground.

Weakly looking up at the hanyou, the former miko reached for his hand that was covered in her blood already. Sadly smiling at him, she whispered "I… was… happy. Thank you…"

Hearing her words, the hanyou watched as her breathing became very shallow, till she finally took her last breath. Staring at the still figure, the dog hanyou couldn't help but allow his emotions to begin spilling out in a soft, silent sob.

"That bitch deserved far worse after what you did with her, half breed."

Hearing the voice, the dog hanyou looked up to see it was the voice of the man that was behind the former miko's body. The man had jet black hair that fell to his neck in length, but had it bound in a tight ponytail, dark coal eyes, and tanned skin. His clothing consisted of a simple gray kimono top that had the sleeves cut off and black pants.

Returning his gaze back down to the red haired woman, the hanyou could not but feel his world crashing down around him. In a strangled voice, he ground out "She was pregnant with your child."

"More than likely spawn of yours, half breed. You slept with her and impregnated her with your filthy blood."

Rising slowly, but hiding his eyes beneath the shadows of his bangs, Iya quietly, but coldly ground out "She loved you with all of her heart. I never did such thing to her. She was my friend, nothing more."

"That's right, deny it, half breed. That bitch got what she deserv…"

Before the man could finish his sentence, the dog hanyou had reached out and grabbed him by the neck and picked him up. With his anger flaring, the hanyou slammed the man against the side of the hut, rocking it nearly off of it's foundation.

Struggling to catch his breath and break the hold of the hand over his neck, the man looked up into the hanyou's face with wide eyes, seeing the hanyou was now revealing his eyes. No longer were they their usual muddy brown color that held gentleness, but now were a blue-green color with red corneas filling in for white. The fangs in the hanyou's mouth had lengthened to the point they were poking out of his mouth while his claws began to dig into the hut as they lengthened as well. Seeing the eyes of the hanyou, the man couldn't help but desperately try and break the hold, but failed to have the strength.

Seeing that their comrade was in trouble, the few men that had been standing in front of the hut rushed over. Their mission seemed to be pulling the hanyou off of their comrade, but they never made it to their objective. Without hesitation, the hanyou unleashed his light blue energy whip with his left hand and easily cut down all of them, killing each on impact.

Tightening his grip on the man's neck that he held up against the hut, Iya growled out "She loved you completely and was so happy to be having your child. And how did you repay that love!? By murdering her! She loved you damn it!"

Noticing the man's face was turning to a shade of blue, the hanyou yelled "A bastard like you has no right to take away a life!"

Without a second thought, the dog hanyou snapped the man's neck before pulling him back and throwing his body completely through the hut. Panting lightly, the hanyou glared at the spot where the man landed through the hole in the hut.

"I'm not done." Iya growled out while stalking towards the man.

Halfway to the man on the ground, the sword on the hanyou's hip pulsated, making him stop and reach up to hold his head in his left hand. Groaning into his hand, the hanyou felt his fangs and claws retract to their normal lengths. Pulling his hand away, he glanced up at the man not far from him. Turning to see the remains of the other men he had slain, the hanyou looked back to the prone figure of the red haired miko. Walking over to her, he fell to his knees next to her and let out a small whimper.

"I'm so sorry… It's not what you would have wanted. I lost control and let my emotions and my demonic side get the better of me. Nariko, please forgive me."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence enveloped the pair for a few minutes, with the Quincy staring at the face of the young man before him. Looking at him, the Quincy saw the pain and regret etched into the young man's face.

"You regret it, don't you?"

Fiercely looking up, Iya snarled "OF COURSE I DO!"

Looking back down at the ground, the young man muttered "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. What I did back then… I'm ashamed of that day. It will forever stay with me."

"Still, I move forward from it. Ever since, I have not taken a human life, nor do I intend to if I can help it. All I can do is try and learn from my mistake. Ever since, I try not to let my emotions get the better of me. It's hard, but it does work, sometimes."

Processing the words of the young man for a moment, Uryū asked "Is that why you told me you don't want to fight?"

"Killing and fighting are not things I relish in. If I must fight, or I must kill, I will, but I refuse to fight a needless battle or kill without reason. That is why I would prefer not to fight with you. I have no real reason to fight you, so long as you do not harm my mate or her family."

Understanding the young man's words, the Quincy glanced up at the sky and softly sighed before saying "I see. I guess that means I'll have to take you at your word."

"I suppose so." Iya smartly commented. "Come on, let's get some more shut eye. I normally don't stay up all night during my human nights."

"I take it you're not afraid of remaining human like most hanyous who stay awake during their periods of weakness?"

Smirking while walking towards the door of the hut, Iya glanced over his shoulder and smugly replied "No, I just don't like losing sleep."


	4. Chapter 4: Found at Last

**Hey there everyone! Well, I just got back from vacation last week, and I must say, I feel so much better after a week off. Things were so hectic right before vacation at work and home, but after a week of relaxing at the beach, I feel like I'm back to normal. For those who didn't know, my mate and I, along with my dad, step mom, step brother, uncle (dad's side), and his wife and son, all went to North Myrtle Beach, SC, for a week. They left Saturday (the 1****st**** of August), while my mate and I left on that Sunday. Heh, getting signed in was so much fun. The office of the place we stayed is closed on Sundays, so we had to do it Monday. Well, we simply forgot until we were headed to dinner at 5 on Monday. We suddenly remembered and called the main office, asking if we could put it off till Tuesday. They said no, so we turned around and went to the office that we were staying at. Sadly, the person who was supposed to be at the office had left just as we pulled in and didn't come back to help us. We called the main office back and told them that the other office was closed, and whoever it was that I talked to said do it Tuesday. Lol, I was semi-pissed over that answer, but got over it. Tuesday, I went down to sign in, only to find the person who does it was off for the day. I tried again Wednesday, but no one was at the office… I called the main office, and they were like "Yeah, that office is closed on Wednesdays." It's like, WTH!? No signs, no nothing, so I just sighed and went on. Thursday, I went back, praying I could just get signed in, and luckily I did. It took all of 1 minute to do so, lol. I just had to sign a paper. All that trouble for one minute of time wasn't worth it, but oh well. Anyways, while on vacation, my step brother convinced me to go parasailing with him. Naturally, all my life, I've had issues with heights, but I've gotten better with it over the years, so I agreed to go with him. It was a lot of fun. We were probably 500 or 600 feet up in the air, but I liked the ride. I only got a bit disoriented when I looked straight down, but that wasn't so bad either. Hmm, other than that, not too much happened during the week really. We played mini-golf and raced go-karts, which I had fun with. My uncle beat me and my dad on a road course, but I was closing. Other than that, not too much else happened. I came back relaxed, which was a good thing, hehe. Oh yeah, when I got back, I had a sleep study that Monday, but forgot to call to confirm it, so I thought I didn't have to go due that the paperwork said I couldn't. WRONG! I got a call back the next morning, asking why I didn't go, in which I explained my reason. The lady commented I could have still come to it. I rescheduled for that night and went. Lucky me, I was all alone, hehe. Four people were to show up, but only I did. It was weird having all those electrodes glued to my head and so on. I slept reasonably, which was good due that I figured I wouldn't since I was in a strange place with all that crap on me. I'll hear back on that in a week or two. Other than that, not much going on, other than me playing my new PS3 game, Ghostbusters. I love that game! It reminds me of the good times, lol. But I'm having tons of fun with that game. I'm busting ghosts left and right and making the original members look like a group of four losers, lol.**

**Sadly, while on vacation, I didn't get a terribly large amount of writing done. I thought I might, but I didn't, but oh well, it happens. I did however get some done, but again, not as much as I thought I would. But no worries, for I have been able to complete chapters for posting.**

**I've been kind of wanting to answer these since a week or so ago, but I guess now is as good a time as any. That's right, it's review time!**

**The Rainwalker: Lol? Ok, nice running. Ah, cool about the final touches on your costume. Hopefully that goes well. Ouch, 100+ degree weather would suck. We've had 80's and 90's this summer, but nothing too odd for West Virginia. Well, it's been more rainy than anything, so it's been cooler I suppose. Heh, sounds like you still have a lot to do before the convention. Good luck with that. But yes, Iya took down that bull demon. Lol, yes, not quite in matador fashion, but it worked. True, **

**it's nice to have that demon gone. Heh, yeah, the goons just ran for it knowing Iya might carry out his threat. Yeah, I kind of made it hard on Iya to help clean up Nariko's wounds, but it's either live with embarrassment or die, hehe. True, he was a gentleman about it. Yeah, her husband killed her, which sucked. Lol, yeah, he assumed a lot and killed an innocent woman. True, Iya should have kept himself in check, but she was a good friend to him and to just lose her after she had found out she was pregnant, he couldn't take it any longer. Thanks about the chapter. Yeah, Iya is a bit more dimensional compared to Illidan from my Yugioh stories. He's got issues with his past, but is trying to move on from them. I'll check out that author, Kender20, once I get a chance. Thanks for the review!**

**Espada Zero: Heh, yeah, some serious crap happened. Lol, true, Iya could have done far worse to Nariko's husband and those men that helped him. LOL! Well, Iya hadn't learned to transform into his dog form by that point. This was like over 200 years ago, so he had yet to figure it out. He didn't learn till he fought the Elric brothers, and that was like 100 some years prior to **_**Another**_**. Heh, always with Ichigo with you, isn't it? No worries, I'll explain him in the near future. Just hang in there. What do you mean back story? This story is after **_**Another**_**, like 5-6 months afterward. Yes, the name of the bull demon was Yachiru's last name. Only reason I used it was I was having a hard time finding a name and I think I saw her name and was like, it works! Thanks for the review!**

**kattana: I know, Nariko's husband is the absolute worst. So sad that it had to end like that for her, but that's how it goes, I suppose. True, but her husband assumed it had to be Iya, just out of prejudice. Everyone always blames the hanyou, lol. Poor Iya felt responsible for her death though, seeing how it was her association with him that got her killed. Still, he shouldn't feel bad, but he has always kind of clung to his regrets if you remember (Kaia). Thanks for the review!**

**Well, that's that. Thanks you three for your reviews. They were very helpful and fun to read. I really appreciate them and hope to see more people respond before the end, just to get a sense of how this story is doing. Thanks once more to everyone who has been reading.**

**Time for me to wrap up once again, so I'll be back in two weeks. Till then, I hope all of you enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 4**

Spying a small village ahead, the group of three stopped a top a hill that was only a mile away. Looking down at it, they saw some smoke rising from a few huts, with a few torches burning outside, but very few. Eyeing it, the three noticed the incomplete wall surrounding the structure, but most of all, they noted the auras and scents within the village the most.

"They are there." Yukio declared with his eyes hardening.

Nodding, Sanosuke added "Yeah, but I sense a couple of priests there too. One is suppressing his power, but the other isn't that strong."

"Both will be irritating, nonetheless." Kenji added.

Remaining silent for a moment while his white dog ears swiveled, the young man with white hair calmly said "I want no unnecessary killing of humans. If they get in your way, you have permission to kill them, but otherwise, do not bother with them. We are here for those two half breeds, and those two alone."

"What if the priests interfere?" Sanosuke questioned.

"If they decide to forfeit their lives in a battle with us, then there is no choice but to kill them." Kenji declared.

"Agreed." Yukio remarked. "Now then, let us go find those two and put an end to this, once and for all."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watching his mate sleeping, Iya let out a small content sigh. The tension he had been feeling from having the Quincy in the room had melted away after coming back inside from his talk with the said man. At the same time, the Quincy seemed more aloof now, even proving so by allowing himself to seemingly go to sleep, though Iya knew better to believe that.

"_He's most likely in a light sleep, if anything. He trusts me, but he's still unsure._"

Brushing the thoughts aside, the young man allowed his eyes to slide shut for a moment, only to realize he was extremely tired. "_I should sleep, but I'm still unsure if I should._"

"_I'm being stupid._" Iya groaned within his mind. "_Uryū has enough trust in me that he's trying to sleep, yet I still stay awake. I should follow his example._"

Closing his eyes once more, the young man felt himself falling into a light slumber, but kept his senses sharp and alert.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Approaching the front of the village, three figures continued to move through the shadows. Looking at the road leading into the village, the pair saw a pair of male humans talking and seemingly keeping guard. Watching them, the young man with white hair silently began moving towards them with purpose seemingly in his steps. Leaping out of the shadows, the young man landed behind the pair of humans, who were unable to react. Quickly, before they could raise the alarm, the young man punched both in the head with each of his hands, effectively knocking the two out.

Walking out of the shadows, the other two figures joined the white haired one. Looking the pair over, the smaller of the two men commented "Overdid it a bit, didn't you, Yukio?"

Throwing a glare at his comrade, the white haired young man did not reply, but led his two comrades into the village, but along through the shadows to avoid detection.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feeling a small prick on his left cheek, Iya's eyes reactively snapped open. Without a second thought, he slapped his cheek, only to hear a familiar groan and muttering of a familiar voice saying "Such is the life of a flea."

Reaching out and catching what had been on his cheek, the young man straightened up to find what he held was a small flea that was flattened with small light gray hair on the sides of his head and a mustache that was in just two patches, with each pointing downwards. His clothing consisted of a faded yellow kimono top with black pants. A moment passed before the flea's body inflated back to normal and he sat up.

Slightly irritated, Iya gruffly asked "Why are you here, Myoga?"

Standing up, the flea quickly bowed and humbly replied "Lord Iya, forgive this old flea for intruding upon you."

Inwardly sighing, the young man calmed his mind and calmly said "It's alright Myoga. Now, why are you here?"

"Well, Lord Iya, a day after you had left with Lady Lilly for this village, reports began coming into the Western Strongholds of three demons trying to find your location. The scouts had run upon this information and quickly sent it to us."

"What do they want?"

Rubbing the back of his head, the old flea replied "Well, that's the problem. They are just searching for you. It seemed suspicious to Lord Sesshomaru, so he sent out a group to pursue and capture the three so they could be questioned."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Iya calmly asked "Were they captured?"

Releasing a loud sigh, Myoga rubbed the back of his head once more and calmly responded with "Unfortunately, no, they were not. They pursued them for a while before the demons managed to escape them at long last."

Sliding his eyes shut and beginning to phase out everything in the area, he quietly said "I see…"

Reaching out with his senses, the black haired young man began to search for demonic auras within the area. Not sensing anything on his first pass, he began to concentrate harder on the village first and deciding to check the outskirts next. Looking for even a glimmer of demonic power, he swept through the village till suddenly three faint auras appeared to him. Keying in on them, he began to locate their position when suddenly interrupted.

"Lord Iya?"

Groaning inwardly, Iya opened his eyes to see the flea demon staring at him with concern on his face. "They're here, Myoga. I take it that's why my brother sent you here?"

Nodding his head slightly, the flea calmly replied "Yes, you're correct. Lord Sesshomaru dispatched me to find you and your mate so I could inform you of the situation."

"It's surprising how much he can care at times."

"You are one of the heirs to the Western Lands, Lord Iya." Myoga countered. "Don't think that he takes the actions of these demons lightly. If they should happen to kill you and your mate, the only ones left would be Lords Sesshomaru and Inuyasha."

Pausing for a moment, the flea pressed on, saying "Word was also sent to Lord Inuyasha, who is closer to you than Lord Sesshomaru."

"He'll arrive too late now that they're here." Iya commented. Letting out a light sigh, he slowly glanced towards the seemingly sleeping form of the older Quincy. "Did you catch all that, Uryū?"

Opening his eyes, the Quincy nodded his head and stood up. "I heard every word."

Picking his mate's head up off of his lap and setting it gently onto a pillow that he had been using, Iya stood himself and said "We need to get the villagers out, now."

"Agreed. If this becomes a warzone, they'll just be in the way. I'll wake Sai."

Nodding, Iya replied "And I'll wake Lilly."

Gently, the black haired young man shook his mate's shoulders, quietly saying "Lilly."

Seeing her stir slightly and gradually crack her eyes open, he added "Lilly, I need you to wake up. We have trouble."

"What's going on?" Lilly asked while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Three demons have come after me. They're already in the village and sneaking this way, so we need to go meet them and get the people out."

Sitting up, the young woman looked at her mate and immediately read the concern within his eyes. "How long do we have?"

"I don't know. They were just near the entrance to the village the last time I picked them up. From what I can tell, they're being sneaky and not revealing themselves, so hopefully they won't attack anyone before they get here."

Standing herself, Lilly remarked "Then we need to hurry up and get out there."

"She's right. We don't have long." Sai spoke up while yawning.

Shaking his head in a no fashion, Iya replied "We need to get the villagers out. Lilly, Sai, I want to two of you to do that."

"I don't take orders from you." Sai declared in a contrite tone.

Placing a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, Uryū calmly said "Sai, he's right. I want you to head up the evacuation of the village."

"But Master…"

"No buts! I need you to lead the people out of here. I will engage these demons. They maybe after Iya, but they made a grave mistake in intruding upon a village that I protect."

Looking at the ground for a long moment, the younger Quincy finally replied "I understand, Master Uryū."

"Good. Now then, I need you to go wake Headman Tarja and Lady Miralla up. Tell them the situation and that we're going to evacuate."

Nodding slightly, the younger Quincy walked into the back of the hut. With the three left behind, Lilly spoke up, saying "Iya, I'm coming with you."

"Lilly, I need you to help with the …"

"Iya, think about it. You said there are three demons in the village, and that all three are suppressing their auras. That means they're possibly skilled."

Shrugging, the young man with black hair replied "It's possible. What's your point?"

"If they're of any skill level, going two vs. three won't make any sense." the young woman remarked. "Let me come with you and Uryū. I'm probably the only other person in this village, next to Sai, that's skilled enough to help you two."

"Lilly, you're not used to fighting as a human. You've only trained in your human form twice since you became a hanyou. That's not nearly enough experience for you to go into this fight with."

"Iya, you need aide and you know it." Lilly growled out. "Other than Sai, I'm all that's left. Don't get overprotective of me when you know I'm speaking the truth."

Looking away for a moment, Iya felt a pair of soft hands touch his cheeks and pull his face to look back up at his mate. Staring into her sky blue eyes, he saw determination flashing in her eyes, making him heavily sigh.

Turning away, he glanced at the quiet Quincy, seeing that he seemed to be waiting for a decision. "Very well Lilly, you can join us."

Quickly spinning around, he added "But you must be vigilant and cautious. Don't forget, you are in your human form. Your speed and strength isn't the same as your hanyou form, plus wounds will hurt more."

"I'll be careful." Lilly vowed. Smiling with mischief in her eyes, she added "Besides, I'm more capable of wielding my sword while in my human form than yourself, so don't be surprised if I save you."

Rolling his eyes, Iya replied "Doubtful."

"Uryū, what's the situation?"

Turning together, the group saw Tarja and Miralla, along with Sai, entering the main room of the hut. Clearing his throat, Uryū replied "Headman Tarja, it appears three demons have infiltrated the village. Currently, they are…"

"You!" Tarja roared while pointing an accusing finger at Iya. "This is your doing! It's not enough that you took our daughter from us, but you dare to bring more of your filth here and intend to kill us all!"

"Poppa, you don't understand!" Lilly declared while moving before her mate. "Iya has nothing to…"

"Lilly, be quiet!" Tarja commanded. Seeing he had surprised and subdued his daughter for the moment, he spoke up once more with anger visibly in his voice. "You brought this trouble upon our village! Uryū, kill him and throw his corpse out to them!"

Eyes widening, Lilly shook her head and looked to the elder Quincy, saying "Please, don't do that! Iya would never intentionally bring trouble to the village."

"Lady Lilly is right."

All eyes turned towards the small flea that was resting on the side of the young man with black hair's neck. Spying it, Tarja's face became a deep shade of red as anger flared out from him.

"You bring yet another demon here! GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!"

Ignoring the headman, Iya turned to the elder Quincy, saying "If you want to fight me, be my guest, but it would be foolish to do so right now."

"I agree. We will settle this afterwards." Uryū remarked. "Sai, take the headman and his wife with you and begin the evacuation of the village. Take the villagers down the route we practiced with them, down by the defensive wall."

Bowing slightly, the younger Quincy replied "Very well, Master Uryū. Do return to us."

Turning to the headman and his wife, he added "Headman Tarja, Lady Miralla, we must leave now."

Casting a fierce glare at Iya, Tarja grunted out "Very well. Lilly, come."

"I'm not going, Poppa."

Looking to her daughter, Miralla calmly asked "What do you mean you're not going, Lilly? We need to leave now, before those demons attack."

Letting out a ragged sigh, the young woman looked to her parents for a moment before finally softly replying "I'm going to stay behind and help my mate in this fight. I'm the only other person besides Sai that can really help defend the village."

"Lilly, you're not a fighter. Come with us. You'll be safe if you do." Miralla coaxed.

Shaking her head, Lilly sadly smiled, saying "Momma, if I left, the village would most likely be lost, and besides that, I won't leave my mate behind to face odds that would assure his death. Please, try to understand ..."

Without warning, Tarja spoke up in a thundering, yet commanding, voice and yelled "I forbid it! You will listen to your mother and come with us!"

Looking directly into her father's eyes with her sky blue ones, Lilly defiantly responded with "No. Poppa, I am a grown woman and I can make my own decisions. I will not desert my mate in his time of need, especially when he's trying so hard to save this village."

"These demons that are coming are after him! Leave him to his deserving fate!" Tarja coldly declared.

"And so you would sign my own death warrant too?" Lilly questioned. "My life is linked to his. If I lose my mate, I will die too. At least if I help in this fight, I can help ensure that not only my life will be spared, but so will my mate's."

Growling lowly with anger visibly on his face, Tarja turned and way from his daughter and grabbed Miralla's hand. "Let's go Miralla."

"But…"

Before Miralla could finish her sentence, her husband dragged her out of the hut. Casting a sympathetic look at his cousin, Sai bowed slightly, saying "I'm sorry, Lilly. I must go."

With the young Quincy gone from the hut, the young man with black hair took a step forward and brought his mate into a warm embrace. Hearing a soft sobbing sound, he gently rubbed her back in a soothing circular pattern. A moment passed before his mate withdrew from his embrace and wiped her eyes with her sleeves.

"I haven't the time for crying. We should go, shouldn't we?"

Nodding, Iya calmly said "We need to get out there and stop them. Uryū, can you handle yourself?"

"You question my skill?" the Quincy mocked with a raised eyebrow.

Chuckling lightly, the young man with black hair shook his head, saying "No, I don't doubt you are highly skilled. Just be careful."

Taking his mate's hand in his own, Iya added "And Lilly, you be just as careful. If you can't win your fight, stall till sunrise. It's only a little over an hour away, so survive till then. Once your demonic powers return, you should be fine."

"And don't you overdue it either." Lilly commented. "I know using Ketsaiga takes it's toll on you while in your human form. Just survive, alright?"

Softly smiling at his mate, the young man nodded and reached in for a quick kiss. The two quickly separated and filed out of the hut.

Outside, the black haired young man began to reach out with his senses and combed the village for the three demons that lurked within it. Finding they weren't far, he pointed in the direction of the three, causing his mate and the Quincy to nod while he took the lead.

After running for only a minute, the three came to a stop in the village square. Scanning the shadows, Iya calmly called out "I know the three of you are there. Hiding is pointless. I know it's me you're after, so come out."

A moment passed before three figures slowly walked out from the shadows. The first was a brown wild spike haired young man with dark brown eyes, a muscular body build, and wore a white tattered kimono top that was open, revealing bandages covering from his pecks down, white pants, and a had a large halberd on lazily sitting on his right shoulder.

To the right of the brown haired man appeared another, this one with brown hair also, but his was longer and bound in a ponytail that reached his shoulder blades in length. He had violet eyes and appeared to have a rather calm demeanor. His clothing consisted of a kimono top that was violet in color, white pants, and a sword strapped to his left hip.

The last to step out of the shadows was a silent young man with straight white hair that reached his butt in length, a pair of white dog ears on his head. The clothing he wore was a brilliant white silk kimono top and pants with a purple obi sash. Attached to his back, just above his butt, appeared to be two swords that were horizontal.

Moving up between the two, the white haired young man came to a stop, but kept his eyes hidden beneath the shadows of his bangs. Looking through his bangs at the three humans before him, the young man remained silent.

"Pfft, why would we be looking for you, human?" the spike haired young man questioned.

Remaining still and keeping his eyes hid, the white haired young man spoke up, saying "Sanosuke, they are the ones we were tracking. Don't let the fact that those two are human right now fool you. That is most definitely Iya Taisho and his mate, Lilly Taisho."

Eyeing the two humans carrying swords, the white haired young man added "It appears that tonight is their period of weakness. I am right, aren't I, Iya Taisho?"

"Perhaps." Iya calmly remarked. "Why do you seek me? And for that matter, who are you three?"

"We are The Army of the Thirteen." Sanosuke declared with pride in his voice.

Casting his eyes between the three, Iya lightly growled in his mind, but kept his facial features calm. "So, there were more of you than the one hundred that were at the battle where the last of The Thirteen fell."

"That is correct, murderer." the young man with violet eyes confirmed. "We are but a few of the true force that remains."

Digesting the words of the three young men, the black haired young man slowly said "I wish for you to explain your intentions. Why do you seek me?"

"To punish you for the crimes you committed against The Thirteen." the white haired young man coolly declared. "You killed our leader, Byakuya Kuchiki, thus you are nothing more than a common murderer who requires punishment. It was you that not only killed our leader, but many of the fallen members of The Thirteen. Your punishment is death and will be carried out."

Gradually, in a calm tone, the young man with black hair replied "Even with Byakuya Kuchiki gone, he continues to pull the strings behind the curtain and manipulate all of you. He cared nothing for any of you. Why bother to go on a vendetta to kill me?"

"Watch your tone, half breed!" Sanosuke growled out.

Holding up a hand in the direction of his comrade, the white haired young man calmly said "Sanosuke, mind your temper."

"Why should it matter, Yukio!? Let's just kill that bastard! You with me, Kenji?"

In a cold tone, Yukio firmly said "Sanosuke, know your place. You will follow my orders, or I will be forced to take appropriate actions."

Visibly somewhat afraid of the statement made by the white haired young man, Sanosuke backed away a few steps, saying "I didn't mean to go against your orders."

"Be sure that you don't." Yukio icily commented. Returning his attention to the three humans before his group, he said "Come with us, Iya Taisho, and no harm will befall this village. Refuse and we will take you by force."

Biting his lower lip, Iya cautiously replied "I have no reason to wish to fight with you. Is there not some way we can come to a peaceful resolution?"

"You must atone for your crimes." Kenji spoke up. "There is no other punishment that will be issued."

Clenching his right first, the black haired young man solemnly replied "I refuse then. What I did to The Thirteen was due that they planned to destroy all four of the Lands and throw everything into chaos. I did what I had to do, which was kill them, one by one, till none were left so that peace could once more be restored. I offered peace to each, with only two accepting in the end. Even though I did kill them, I will not accept punishment for it. The four Lands are far better off now that The Thirteen are gone."

"Very well then, we will take you by force." Yukio stated.

"You're not taking him anywhere!" Lilly ground out while moving up beside of her mate. "Iya did nothing wrong. It was The Thirteen who caused much pain and suffering. They didn't plan on saving anyone, only doing what was best for themselves! You have no right to make judgment whenever it was the very ones you served that caused this whole mess."

Staring at the young woman, the white haired young man remarked "Lilly Taisho, you are also charged with a crime against The Thirteen. It was due to you that two members fell, therefore, you will be punished accordingly as well."

Casting a glance at the silent young man with glasses, Sanosuke asked "What about you, priest? Are you going to let us be and take these two criminals, or are you going to intervene?"

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Uryū evenly replied "The three of you made a foolish mistake of intruding upon this village. I am it's protector, and even though these two may be criminals in your eyes, I find no fault. Therefore, I am duty bound to protect them, along with all the people within this village, from you."

"Only figures you'd fight us." the wild brown haired young man commented.

Silence filled the air for long moments while each of the fighters began tensing. Gripping the hilts of their swords, both humans kept a watchful eye on the three opponents across from them while the three demons took firmer grips on the hilts of their own swords.

In a sound declaration, Yukio said "I will deal with Iya Taisho."

"That just leaves the priest and the woman." Sanosuke commented, seemingly to himself.

Before the larger demon could say anything else, Kenji remarked "I will deal with the neko then."

Grumbling to himself, the larger man grunted out "Great, stuck with a weakling priest."

"Careful who you call weak!" Uryū declared while taking to the air. Halfway up, he brought his right arm out before his body. Immediately, light blue energy began forming around the young man's right hand and quickly expanded into the shape of a black bow with white weaved into it. Pulling back on the string, the young man began forming an arrow made up of light blue energy. Taking aim, he released his load, sending a single air flying at his target.

Instinctively, the spike haired demon drew his sword off of his shoulder and used it's broad side to block the incoming arrow. A small explosion followed from the strike, making the spike haired demon glare up at the Quincy, who was still in mid-air and falling backwards towards the ground.

Taking aim once more, the Quincy notched another arrow in his bow. Before he could fire off a shot, the spike haired demon charged towards him, causing him to leap backwards while releasing another arrow. Once more, the demon blocked the shot with his sword while growling lightly.

"Come back, coward!" Sanosuke yelled while giving chase towards the northward direction that the Quincy was taking.

Keeping her eyes on the battle between the Quincy and the larger demon, Lilly suddenly felt a shift in the air. In perfect reflex, she quickly drew her sword just as the other brown haired demon appeared behind her with his sword drawn and slashing out at her backside. Spinning rapidly, she parried the attack, earning her a slight bit of shock within the violet eyes of the young demon.

Staring into the violet eyes of the demon crossing swords with her, the young woman smartly asked "Impatient, aren't you?"

Giving no answer, the brown haired demon vanished once more, only to reappear on top of a nearby hut. Looking up at him defiantly, Lilly sheathed her sword and threw a quick glance towards her mate. Receiving a small nod from him, she in reply returned the nod before quickly turning away and breaking into a run towards the eastern side of the village. Immediately, the brown haired demon gave chase after her, leaping from hut to hut in pursuit.

Staring at the white haired demon before him, Iya gripped the hilt of Ketsaiga tightly while a small trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face. Eyeing him over, he couldn't help but feel a worry filling his mind. Pushing it to the back of his mind, the black haired young man waited patiently for the demon to make his move.

"You will choose a different battleground."

Feeling a bit of shock rise to the surface, the black haired young man began to reply, only to have the white haired demon add "To fight in this village would be too troublesome. I wish not to destroy it just so I can execute you. Now then, choose a new location and we shall proceed from there."

Hesitant for a moment, Iya softly whispered towards the small flea that sat at the juncture of his neck and shoulder "Should I trust him?"

"I don't know, Lord Iya. It's very strange for him to offer to change the battle's location before it even begins. Perhaps he's that confident that he will earn a victory in whatever location you choose to fight in." Myoga commented back.

Acknowledging the words of the small flea with a nod, the black haired young man slowly began trekking in the direction of south in a light run. Glancing behind himself, he saw that the white haired demon was following behind him at a safe distance of fifteen feet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching the outer most parts of the village, the Quincy inwardly smirked when he saw the spike haired demon was continuing to give chase. Spinning around, he drew back his bow like many times before and launched an arrow at the demon.

Not bothering to block the arrow, the spike haired demon sidestepped the attack and continued pursuit of his prey. Seeing the smug look on the Quincy's face, the demon couldn't help but growl silently to himself.

At last a mile away from the village, Uryū launched himself up into a tree and fell to one knee on the branch he stood on. Coming to a skidding stop, the brown haired demon glared up at the tree. Without warning, he suddenly smirked up at the Quincy.

"Are you satisfied now that we're out of that damn village? I know that's the reason you kept running away and just firing weak shots off at me." Sanosuke declared.

Raising an eyebrow, the Quincy replied "So, you figured it out."

"Wasn't very hard." the brown haired demon snorted. Letting out a small sigh, he raised his left hand to rub the back of his head, mumbling "We are horrible match ups for a fight. This is going to be such a pain."

Reaching up and pushing his glasses back up on his nose, the Quincy rose to his feet and asked "Why would you say that?"

Sighing once more, Sanosuke grunted out "There are two reasons. The first being the type of fighters we are. You're obviously a long range fighter, while I am a close range fighter. Those two types would put me at a disadvantage, you would think, but not really since you seem to be rather weak."

Irked by the words of the brown haired demon, the Quincy began to venomously fire back, but before he could, the demon continued on, saying "Because of our types, you will keep your distance, while I try and approach you. Naturally, that won't be easy, seeing how you have some speed."

"And what would the second reason be?" Uryū quipped with irritation in visibly in his voice.

Smirking, the brown haired demon responded with "You're going to drag this out as long as possible."

"Not likely, demon. I'll end this battle before it starts."

Watching the black haired young man draw back on his bow string, the brown haired demon smirked. Drawing the sword on his shoulder off, he swung it around and then dug the blade into the ground. Pulling his white kimono top open even more to bare his chest, he patted his pecks.

"I guarantee that you won't be able to hurt me. I'm so confident that I'll give you a free shot."

Seeing the Quincy not move or say anything, Sanosuke let out a heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "Only figures you'd refuse to shoot someone who wants you to. Fine then, we'll do it the hard way."

Grabbing his large sword's hilt and pulling it from the ground, the brown haired demon leapt into the air at the stationary Quincy. Watching the demon swing his sword at him, the Quincy leapt backwards into the air. The blade of the sword easily severed the tree limb, leaving it to fall to the ground.

Drawing back on his bow string even more, the Quincy formed an arrow of light blue energy and immediately released it. Watching the arrow coming in, the demon let go of his sword, allowing it to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Spreading his arms out and baring his chest, the demon allowed the arrow to slam straight into his chest, causing a small explosion to form from the impact of the arrow.

Falling back to the ground and landing on his toes, Uryū glanced at the descending smoke covered demon. Keeping his eyes trained on the smoke, the Quincy couldn't help but gasp in shock when the smoke faded, revealing the demon was completely unharmed.

"You look surprised, priest." Sanosuke commented. "I told you that you couldn't hurt me. No matter what you do, it won't make a difference."

In a calm, but confident tone, the Quincy replied "I beg to differ."

Drawing back on his bow string once more, Uryū focused his eyes on the center of the demon's chest. Pushing more power into his arrow than previously, he held the arrow back tightly before at last launching it. The arrow went sailing straight at the demon, who continued to stand in place and smirk confidently.

A small explosion ensued upon the arrow reaching it's target and striking it, causing smoke to cover the place where the blast was. Lowering his right arm, the black haired young man kept his eyes trained on the smoke, only to clench his right hand shut more tightly when he saw the form of the brown haired demon being revealed from the smoke.

Wafting the smoke away, the brown haired demon deeply chuckled and pulled his kimono top open even more, revealing his undamaged chest. "I told you priest, you can't hurt me. It's pointless to continue. You can't hurt me, so why bother pursing a pointless course of action?"

"_So that arrow had no effect?_" Uryū questioned in his mind. "_There must be something protecting him then. From what I can tell, he's not a full demon, that much is for certain. Judging by his aura, he's not capable of cancelling out my arrows with a wave of demonic aura, so that's out. The only possibilities left are some how or another, he is raising a barrier to block my attacks, but that seems unlikely. I watched the arrow nearly touch his chest before it suddenly exploded. No barrier could be that close to someone's body. The only other possibility is he's just that strong, but I highly doubt that._"

Keeping his eyes focused on the incomplete demon, the Quincy hardened them while making a decision in his mind. "_I'll have to try an experiment. This should prove what is truly going on._"

Raising his right arm back up before his body so that his bow was horizontal once more, the Quincy casually declared "Get ready demon, for here I come."

"Bring it on, little man." Sanosuke remarked.

Without warning, the demon watched the Quincy vanish into thin air, leaving him glancing around for him. He didn't have long to wait for his opponent to reappear, only to discover he was now twenty feet in the air above him with his bow drawn taunt and a light blue arrow notched.

Eyes trained on his target, the black haired young man let loose the arrow he had pulled back, only to launch another in quick succession. Vanishing once more, the Quincy soon reappeared and let loose a fury of arrows.

Repeatedly, the young Quincy continued to vanish and reappear, only to launch a few arrows and then once more vanish. The arrows continuously slammed into the brown haired demon, who only stood his ground with a smug look on his face. Smoke continued to rise from the series of explosions from the contact, which slowly began to hide the demon.

Satisfied with his attacks, the black haired young man hardened his eyes and focused his energy into the arrow he currently had drawn back. The light blue energy slowly began to change color and took on a pinkish tint. Finished, the Quincy released the arrow and kept his eyes trained on it while it flew towards it's intended target.

Making contact with something, the arrow suddenly released a dark blue color. At the same time, leaping backwards out of the smoke was the brown haired demon with a look of shock on his face. Coming to a skidding stop, he glared in the direction of the Quincy, who had fallen back to the ground and landed nimbly on his feet.

Seeing the anger and shock on the face of the incomplete demon, Uryū inwardly smirked and coolly remarked "I know your secret now."

Continuing on, the Quincy slowly said "When I fire an arrow, I typically fire one with no real purifying energy within it. They are mostly made up of just pure energy. This makes my arrows just like real arrows and they keep me from expending any extra energy that I may need later."

"That arrow I fired at the end of my barrage was a special arrow. I placed a bit of purifying energy within it just to find out if my hunch was right about why my arrows was doing no damage to you, and it proved me right. My arrow had just enough energy in it to identify if a barrier existed around you, and it found there is one."

"I must admit, you surprise me that you can keep a barrier up so close to your body. Most barriers are at least a foot or so away from a person normally, but your barrier is like a second skin it appears."

Slightly chuckling, the spike haired demon coolly replied "You surprise me, priest. I didn't think you would discover my barrier. I suppose I should properly introduce myself."

"My name is Sanosuke Zaraki, third in command of The Army of The Thirteen."

Storing away the name of the demon within his mind, the Quincy replied "My name is Uryū Ishida. I am the Quincy protector of this village."

"Quincy?"

Nodding in reply, Uryū remarked "Yes, a Quincy. We are a special type of priests. Unlike most priests who rely heavily on their holy powers and a staff, Quincy's prefer to create weapons made of energy to fight with and rely less on their holy powers. We have them, but we use them to a lesser extent. That is the reason I use a bow rather than a staff."

Digesting the information that human had given him, the incomplete demon nodded his head, saying "I suppose it's only fair I tell you the type of demon I am. I am a rare breed known as a battle demon. My father was one of the founding members of The Thirteen, and was known as Kenpachi Zaraki. He was a pure battle demon, but my mother was a hanyou battle demon, thus I am nothing more than a three-quarters demon. That didn't matter to Lord Byakuya though, for he cherished all of his army."

"You seem like a decent enough human, Quincy, but it's a shame you're going to have to die here today. Battle demons are legendary on the battlefield, and I'm no exception. You bit off more than you can chew with me."

Raising an eyebrow, Uryū reached up and pushed his glasses up on his nose, saying "Is that so? Then I hope you aren't too disappointed when I defeat you."

Sneering at the human, the incomplete battle demon replied "I can't be defeated by a lowly human like you. You must be insane if you think you can beat me."

"I will defeat you, demon. You've yet to see what I'm capable of." the Quincy firmly remarked.

Still sneering, Sanosuke shot back "Same to you."

Bringing his right arm before his body, the Quincy reached out and drew back on his bow, causing a light blue arrow to form immediately. Concentrating for a moment longer, the arrow's aura slowly took on a light pink coloring. Releasing the arrow at the demon's left shoulder, the young black haired man kept his eyes trained on it as it raced across the open area towards the incomplete battle demon.

Just before the arrow could reach it's intended target, the brown haired demon reached out with his right hand and grabbed hold of the arrow that was in mid-flight. Holding onto the arrow, he did not even so much as flinch while his hand began to smoke from the energy within the arrow. Squeezing the arrow, he snapped it in half, causing the energy to dissipate into the air. Opening his hand, he revealed a small bit of burnt flesh, but simply wiped his hand on his pants.

"I told you before that I won't lose to you."

Keeping his gaze focused on the brown haired demon's face, Uryū evenly responded with "So you say, but I am curious to why you blocked my arrow. Are you afraid of what my holy powers will do to that barrier?"

"I fear nothing you can do." Sanosuke ground out.

"Then why block my shot?" the Quincy questioned. "It seems as if you are invincible with that barrier up, you wouldn't have to block my shots."

Visibly irritated, the incomplete demon coolly replied "This barrier will not be broken. I didn't inherit much ability for magic from my father, but he never had much talent for it to begin with. Still, I did inherit his ability to create barriers close to my body. He was a powerful warrior and very cunning and revered throughout The Thirteen for his skills. Even though I never met him, I have heard that I am every bit the warrior that he is, if not more so since I have a bit of a head on my shoulders. So trust me when I say my barrier will not fall to some weakling priest."

Drawing back on his bow, the Quincy remarked "Is that so? Then allow me to prove you wrong."

Pouring his holy powers into the arrow, the black haired young man could sense the change in the arrow's energy almost instantly. The coloring of the arrow immediately went from a light blue color to a brilliant pink color and it's aura seemed to take on one of purity. Hardening his eyes, the Quincy released his arrow straight at the chest of the incomplete battle demon.

Reaching out and grabbing his large sword, the spike haired demon brought it horizontally before his body and suddenly began spinning the sword rapidly with both hands before his body like a defensive shield. The arrow continued on it's straight path towards the spinning sword, seemingly bent on not deviating.

Just as the arrow was about to hit, it suddenly redirected itself away from the smirking incomplete demon, who could not help but allow a look of shock wash over his face. Moving upwards, the arrow sailed higher into the sky before suddenly changing direction once more and racing towards the unguarded backside of the incomplete battle demon.

Bringing his rotating sword to a stop, the spike haired demon quickly swung his sword over his head at the arrow, only to have the arrow change course once more. Keeping his eyes glued on the arrow, the incomplete battle demon tracked it's trajectory and discovered it was slowly curving around back towards him. Readying himself for it, he swung his massive sword at the arrow, only to have it once more change direction again and fly upwards into the air about fifty feet.

Without warning, the arrow suddenly shot downwards towards the spike haired demon, who readied his sword to counter the arrow. Swiping at the arrow, the incomplete demon missed, allowing the arrow to slip behind him and fly straight for his back. Finding it's target, the arrow struck at the spike haired demon's back, only to suddenly release a brilliant pink flash around him. Instantly, the barrier that surrounded him was made visible while it slowly began to dissipate.

Casting a fierce glare at the Quincy, who now had his arms at the sides of his body and a confident, if not cocky, smirk on his face, Sanosuke snarled out "How did you destroy my barrier!? For that matter, how did you manage to move that arrow like you did?"

"Bringing your barrier down was a trivial task." Uryū remarked coolly. "That arrow I fired at you was one made up of my holy aura and is called a sacred arrow, which is what most priestesses use. But unlike most sacred arrows, this one was different. Normally, when a sacred arrow hits it's mark, it purifies whatever it strikes in a single stroke. The arrow I fired obviously didn't do that. No, it was made more like a bomb. That's why when it punctured your barrier, instead of going on and hitting you, the arrow simply exploded and purified your barrier."

Gnashing his teeth together, the incomplete battle demon ground out "How did you know it would damage my barrier?"

"Quincy are very acute to the strength of barriers. They can judge one's strength by simply firing a test arrow at it."

Remaining silent for a moment, realization dawned on the spike haired demon. "You mean that arrow you fired earlier to find out if I had a barrier or not, that was your test arrow?"

Nodding in reply, the Quincy responded with "That's correct. The arrow I hit your barrier with earlier was to first find out if you had a barrier, and secondly to find out it's strength. Once I had landed the hit, I quickly made my calculations to the strength of your barrier and determined how much power I needed to knock it down."

Pausing for a moment, he added "I must admit, the strength of your barrier was higher than I anticipated. From what I gather, you were using your demonic aura to fuel it's strength, so that only an opposing force of greater power could bring it down. I did have to put a bit more energy into that arrow than I preferred to, but it worked out in the end."

"As for how my arrow managed to evade your defenses, that's simple."

Holding his left hand up and spreading his index and middle finger, Uryū coolly said "I was using this. I'm sure you can't really see what I'm holding out, so I'll explain it to you. What I have is a nearly invisible thread of holy energy. It was attached to the end of my arrow when fired it at you. As long as it was attached, the arrow could be redirected to any direction that I so desired. All I had to do was mentally change it's trajectory. When the arrow finally punctured your barrier, I released the thread, causing the arrow to explode and take out your barrier."

Digesting the words of the Quincy, the brown haired demon remained silent. Seeing this, the Quincy spoke up once more, saying "I suggest you surrender. I offer this due that I do not have any desire to kill you. Take your comrades and leave my village forever and never return. If you refuse this, then I cannot guarantee I will not kill you."

"You, kill me?" Sanosuke questioned. Slowly, a small smirk appeared on his face while he began to let out a low chuckle. Bit by bit, the chuckle built up till finally it became laughter.

Finishing his laughter, the incomplete battle demon once more smirked at the seemingly unfazed Quincy. "You've been rather amusing, boy, but for you to think you've got me beat is pathetic. You got a single shot in on me, that's all. That barrier maybe gone, but who says I needed it to beat you. Barriers are for defense alone, not offense."

"Very well then, if you will not heed my words, I have no choice in the matter." Uryū coolly responded while drawing back on his bow. Instantly, a light blue energy arrow formed within it and he took aim on the incomplete battle demon.

Still smirking, Sanosuke remarked "I think it's time I showed you what you're truly up against."

Without warning, the incomplete battle demon vanished. Eyes widening a fraction, the Quincy reached out with his senses, but quickly found the location of his target. He immediately darted forward, only to miss losing his head to the large sword of the incomplete demon, who had reappeared behind the Quincy.

"_What the hell is this speed!? He wasn't this fast earlier. Was he merely toying with me?_" Uryū pondered in his mind while coming about and skidding backwards. Taking aim once more with his bow, he watched as his opponent once more vanished into thin air.

Appearing above the Quincy in mid-air, the incomplete demon came swinging his sword downwards at his opponent, only to have him dodge once more and reappear twenty feet away with his bow aimed once more.

Drawing back on his bow till it was tight, the Quincy was about to release his arrow when suddenly his target vanished once more. Letting out a low growl of frustration, the young man with black hair quickly began to scan the area with his senses in an attempt to find his opponent again. Finding him reemerging behind himself, the Quincy vanished into thin air just as the large halberd swiped through the location where he had once stood.

High up in the air, the Quincy rematerialized and took aim at the place where he had been only moments before, only to find the incomplete demon was again gone. Eyes widening as he suddenly felt the presence of his opponent in close proximity behind himself. Glancing over his shoulder, the Quincy barely had time to react to the incoming swipe of the large halberd.

Both the Quincy and the incomplete demon soon fell to the ground with the sound of dripping blood and panting filling the air. Sneering, Sanosuke smugly said "You managed to minimize the damage from my attack. I was attempting to kill you, yet you only received that small gash on your right arm."

Panting lightly still, Uryū grunted out "It'll take more than that to defeat me."

"Perhaps, but from the looks of things, you won't last too much longer."

Clenching his right hand tightly, the Quincy took a deep breath and slowly let it exhale from his body. Raising his right arm, the bow attached to it suddenly began to glow with a light blue energy, but soon vanished along with the bow.

"All done then?" the incomplete battle demon questioned in a mocking tone. Drawing his halberd out before his body horizontally, he declared "You're not any fun. Let's end this!"

Charging forward, the incomplete battle demon moved fast like before and was right in front of the Quincy at a moment's notice. Noting no change in his opponent, the demon swung his sword at his opponent, only to find the Quincy vanish into thin air, effectively dodging his strike.

Finding his target not far away and looking the opposite direction, the incomplete battle demon charged after the Quincy once more, only to have him vanish in a flash like before just as he swung his large halberd.

Once more reacquiring his target, Sanosuke lightly growled to himself and leapt in the direction of the black haired young man. Like before, he swung his sword at the Quincy's head, only to again come up with nothing. Even more frustrated than before, the incomplete battle demon found the Quincy standing not far away and once more attacked him. Like before, the Quincy vanished into thin air, reappearing not far away from his opponent.

"STOP RUNNING YOU COWARD!" the incomplete battle demon roared.

Glancing over his shoulder at the spike haired demon, the Quincy turned towards him, saying "I do not run."

"Then stand your ground!" Sanosuke snarled in response.

"Who says I was running?" Uryū stoically questioned. "I was merely gauging your speed and strength. That requires evading your attacks, so standing still and allowing you to cut me to ribbons is not an option."

Turning about and facing the angered spike haired demon, the Quincy reached to his belt and pulled out one of the slender handles of what looked like a rectangular object. Drawing it out fully, he brought it before his body horizontally. A moment passed before from the end of the object, a blade of light blue energy shot out. It gave off a strange humming noise while it seemed to somewhat vibrate.

Staring at the weapon in the Quincy's hand, the incomplete demon asked "What is that thing you're holding?"

"This weapon is known as Seeled Schneider. It is the only edged weapon in the entire Quincy arsenal of weaponry. Typically, Quincy's only use bows and arrows, but this weapon is special. You'll soon find that even you will not be able to overcome it."

Casting a stoic look upon his opponent, Uryū asked "Shall we continue?"


	5. Chapter 5: Overcoming the Odds

**Hey there everyone! So, what's new in my life, let's see… At work, my project is finally winding down. With a lot of effort, we finished things up and I'm more or less fixing minor bugs that come in. We deploy to our main production environment on Friday, thankfully, so that will at long last be out of the way. Oh yeah, my yearly review is on the same day, but I already finished that up before I went on vacation. I was given a good one and given a raise, so go me! Hmm, home life has been fun. I began playing Ghostbusters the Video Game when I got home from vacation, which I must say has been fun. I finally did beat it, but there is so much crap I've yet to unlock. I plan on going back through in the Professional mode, which is the hardest level you can play at. Also, I have been playing Mario Kart for the Wii, which has been loads of fun and frustrating at the same time, lol. I completed both the 50 and 100 cc classes, meaning I'm up to completing the 150 cc, and I've come to realize one thing about that class. They are damn mean in 150, lol. I can be out front in the race for most of it and all of a sudden, I'm smacked around repeatedly till I drop to dead last on the last lap. I did manage to complete one series for a 1****st**** place, but I have a 2****nd**** place on the next series. I've yet to try the other two that are unlocked, but I don't really want to till I get the gold in that series I have a 2****nd**** place in. Oh yeah, my mate and I celebrated our 3****rd**** anniversary of being married on the 18****th****. Even after three years, I still can't believe how lucky I am to be with her. I don't know, it's just hard to imagine that my life could be anything without her somehow in it. Anyways, that's about it for what's happening. Nothing else is really going on.**

**Writing wise, I've been getting some done recently. I hit a nice streak last week and part of this week, so we'll see how that goes. Also, this chapter is about the mid-way point of the story. I expect there to be maybe 4-5 more chapters, and then that's it. As for what happens after this story, no clue, lol.**

**Moving along, it's again time for my favorite part of posting. That's right, it's review time!**

**The Rainwalker: (/Sweat drops at watching you dance.\) Ok… Cool about the costume for Kumoricon. Heh, a ninja eh? Sounds fun. Lol, pirates vs. ninjas, the classic showdown between the swashbucklers and sneaky people, hehe. ROFL! So you guys do battle in rock, paper, scissors… That's kind of a letdown. I was looking forward to seeing on the news reports about the blood bath. Oh well, I'll get over it, I suppose… Cool about putting on that demonstration. Heh, yes, Lilly's parents need a good kick in the bum when you look at the difference in values between the two sets of couples. Yeah, I figured that Iya, Lilly, and Uryu wouldn't want to damage the village. It was cramped to fight in anyways. Yeppers, Uryu is quite the calculating and cool character, just like he is within Bleach, and yeah, I kind of made him a bit kinder too. Thanks about the Uryu comment and about the battle scenes. To me, they're not quite what I expected, but everyone tells me they're better than I think they are. Eh, I let the population rule on that one, hehe. It's cool about not being able to review while at the Kumoricon. It happens. I think you told me about your blog once, but I can't remember if I've been there or not yet. I probably have and don't remember. If not, I'll check it out sometime soon. Btw, congrats on getting an account here. Thanks for your review!**

**Kattana: Heh, yeah, it's hard not to like Uryu. He's so lovable, lol. Thanks for your review!**

**Well, that's it for this round of reviews. Thank you, both of you, for them. I really appreciate it when I receive your reviews. It helps me so much in gauging where I stand in portraying the story, and apparently, judging by your two's comments, I'm doing well. Once more, thank you.**

**I'm all wrapped up for now. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Later!**

**Chapter 5**

Eyeing the glowing sword within the Quincy's hand, the incomplete battle demon smugly smirked, saying "That flimsy sword won't protect you against me. I doubt it could even take a strike from a real weapon."

"Come to find out." Uryū challenged.

Sneering, Sanosuke drew his halberd up onto his right shoulder and shrugged, saying "It's your funeral."

Slowly moving towards the Quincy, the incomplete battle demon began picking up speed and soon broke into a full gallop towards the black haired young man. Seemingly unafraid, the black haired young man charged towards the incoming incomplete demon with his energy sword still before his body. The two seemed to vanish, only to have the air fill with the sound of swords exchanging blows and the pair to reappear seven feet away from one another with each facing away from the other.

A moment passed before the large halberd in the incomplete battle demon's right hand began creaking and suddenly over half the blade of the sword fell to the ground with a massive thud. Looking at the damaged blade, the brown spike haired demon drew the remains of his sword up before himself and turned around. At the same time, the Quincy turned back to face his opponent with a smug look on his face.

Setting the hilt of the massive sword on the ground, Sanosuke asked "How did you do that? That sword of mine should have been able to weather such a weak attack, so tell me how you managed to cut through it like it was nothing."

"It's a rather simple explanation." Uryū commented while raising his right hand to push his glasses back up on his nose. "Seeled Schneider is unlike any weapon you've probably encountered before. The blade is composed completely out of energy, not holy energy, but just plain energy. As you can probably hear, the blade is producing a buzzing noise, which is caused due that it is vibrating constantly. The energy that composes the blade is revolving at a constant three-million times per a second, making the blade much like a saw slicing through a tree of soft wood. Against any weapon without any kind of fierce aura behind it, Seeled Schneider will easily slice through anything."

Pointing at the remains of the large halberd, the black haired young man coolly remarked "That sword you were carrying, it wasn't a demon sword. It was merely a sword you picked up from a human if I had to guess. That weapon had no aura of any kind within it, making me believe that it was just something you found somewhere."

Dropping the hilt of his sword, the incomplete battle demon cracked a small smile while the remains of the sword hit the ground. "You found me out. It's true, I did take that weapon from a human I killed several years ago."

"This fight is over, demon." Uryū stated. "You are now unarmed. Your barrier is broken, and should you be foolish enough to raise it back up, I could easily destroy it with another arrow or even Seeled Schneider if I chose. I suggest you stand down while you are still alive."

Chuckling lowly, Sanosuke drew his fists up before his body and cracked each while drawing them back into fists. "I must admit, you're a tricky bastard to fight, Quincy. Thus far, you've proven to be amusing, but I'll let you in on a little secret of mine."

"Though I use a sword to fight with, that's not my primary style of fighting. No, I picked that thing up several years ago after a battle with a human. He was incredibly strong due to wielding that lug of a sword. When I realized that, I killed him and took the sword so that I could increase my own strength. By swinging that sword, my upper body strength increased over time. That was the whole point of carrying the damn thing along with me for so long."

Bringing his fists before himself in a ready position, he smugly added "My true fighting style is hand to hand. If you can beat me while I fight like that, then I'll acknowledge you as the stronger of the two of us, but you should know, I never lose a fight. When I take one on, I see it through to the end."

Drawing his sword horizontally before his body, the Quincy icily replied "Then let's finish this fight. I won't hold back."

"Good, because if you want to beat me, Quincy, you'll need to come at me with everything you've got."

Finishing his words, the incomplete battle demon vanished in a flash, leaving the Quincy to stare at the empty space with wide eyes. Reacting with only a moment's notice, he quickly leapt backwards, only to barely escape a heavy right fist of his opponent.

"_What the hell!? His speed, did it increase again!? How is it possible for him to move that fast? Was he merely playing with me up until now, or was that sword truthfully holding him back?_"

Having no time to answer his own thoughts, the black haired young man saw the spike haired demon vanish into thin air once again with a smirk on his face. Like before, at the last possible moment, the Quincy felt the presence of the incomplete battle demon and managed to just barely dodge the power laden right fist. Quickly retreating back about ten feet, the Quincy cast his eyes upon the smug figure of his opponent.

"Not bad, you dodged me twice. That's a surprise." Sanosuke boasted.

Keeping his eyes trained on the incomplete battle demon, the Quincy heard him say "You won't be so lucky this time."

In a flash, the demon was gone, leaving the lone human to attempt to figure out where his opponent would reappear. Reaching out desperately with his senses, the Quincy tried to find his target, only to have him reappear behind himself before he could detect him. Drawing back his right hand, the incomplete battle demon launched the heavily laden fist at the back of the unknowing priest.

Surprising the demon, Uryū half turned towards his opponent, only leaving his right side open to the fist. The powerful fist of the demon grazed against his ribs, making the black haired young man grimace from the raw power that he felt crushing up against them. Instinctively, he kicked off of the incomplete demon, allowing him to move away to a safe distance of twelve feet. Skidding to a stop, the Quincy immediately fell to one knee, panting heavily while dropping his energy sword to the ground and placing his left hand over his injured ribs. Weakly, he coughed with a bit of blood running down from the corner of his lips.

"Amazing that you didn't take more damage than you did, Quincy." Sanosuke spoke up. "I thought I had you, but you seemed to have been able to sense me just before I struck. Very impressive, but the question is, how much longer can you survive. I would be willing to bet not much longer, seeing how much pain you're in now."

Seemingly not intimidated, the Quincy reached forward with his right hand and took hold of the hilt of the slender energy sword. Standing with some difficulty, he slowed his breathing while holding the sword in his right hand. Sliding his eyes shut, he took a deep breath and released his left hand from his wound. Reaching up, he rubbed the blood off of the corner of his lips and slowly reopened his eyes to the world once more.

Tightening his grip on the humming energy blade, Uryū dryly said "You underestimate me, demon. This fight is far from over."

Letting out a boisterous laugh, the incomplete battle demon sneered, asking "Is that so? Well pardon me for pointing out the obvious, but I'm faster and stronger than you. How, pray tell, do you intend on defeating me?"

Not saying a word, the Quincy suddenly vanished into thin air, making the incomplete battle demon suddenly become serious. A moment passed before the demon leapt to his left, only to narrowly escape the tip of the energy sword from slashing him across the chest.

Keeping a bored expression on his face, the black haired young man cast a look at his opponent before vanishing once more. Glancing left and right while sniffing the air, the incomplete battle demon suddenly jumped backwards just in time to dodge another slash by the energy blade that was this time aimed at his head.

Drawing his fists before himself, the brown haired demon asked "Do you honestly think you can keep that up for much longer? I know you must be pushing your body to it's limits to try and outmaneuver me."

Remaining silent, the black haired human disappeared again, causing a growl of irritation to escape the spike haired demon. "It's pointless to keep doing this. I'll only dodge you."

Emerging into view about twenty feet up in the air, the Quincy coolly replied "Let's see you dodge this then."

Placing the sword's hilt in his mouth, the Quincy reached out with his right arm, allowing light blue energy to engulf his gloved hand. His black and white bow immediately formed from the glow. Drawing back on the bow string with his left hand, the black haired young man released an arrow in the direction of his opponent with blinding speed.

"That arrow won't stop me!" Sanosuke declared while pulling back his right hand. Clenching it tightly, he threw it forward, slamming it dead on into the arrow. The arrow instantly exploded, not even so much as drawing blood from it's target.

Glancing back up to the sky for the Quincy, the spike haired demon frowned when he noted he couldn't find him. Finding a shadow forming over himself, the demon looked up to find the form of the Quincy falling towards him with an arrow already fired.

Drawing back his right hand, the incomplete battle demon launched his right hand forward, smashing it roughly into the incoming arrow. Like the previous arrow, it simply exploded and did no harm to the demon.

Thinking that was it, the incomplete battle demon began looking for the Quincy, only to suddenly see the human cutting through the smoke of the explosion with his energy sword in hand. Having little time to react to the tactic, the incomplete battle demon attempted to pull backwards, only to have his left shoulder grazed by the energy sword.

Separating themselves, the pair eyed one another carefully, each looking for an opening in the other's defenses. With neither finding one, the two began readying themselves for another onslaught.

"You were careless, demon." Uryū emotionlessly declared. "For all your boasting, you are far too careless for your own good. That arrogance will be your downfall."

Growling to himself, Sanosuke fired back "I will not lose to some human!"

Clenching his hands tightly, the incomplete battle demon reigned in his emotions and slowly ground out "I think it's time I ended this fight. No need to keep fighting someone who can barely keep up with me."

Drawing up his right fist vertically, the spike haired demon stared at it while a dark red demonic aura suddenly began to encircle it. The aura itself seemed to reek of pure power and anger, making the Quincy keep his eyes trained on the fist.

"This will end it, once and for all!" Sanosuke yelled while suddenly charging forward. All at once, he vanished into thin air, making Uryū's eyes widen while he frantically searched for his opponent.

Appearing under three feet away from the black haired young man, the demon drew back his right hand and slammed it forward. As a last ditch effort, the Quincy attempted to spin out of the way, only to place his left shoulder in the path of the glowing right fist of his opponent.

The fist of the incomplete battle demon and the left shoulder of the Quincy only made contact for a brief second, but to the Quincy, the second was an eternity of pain as he felt the bone within his shoulder seemingly begin cracking into pieces.

Not even having a chance to yell out in pain, the black haired young man saw the spike haired demon launch his fist forward quickly once more. The blow landed exactly in the same spot on the Quincy's left shoulder, allowing the sound of bone seemingly completely shattering to fill the air this time.

Screaming out in pain, Uryū forced his body backwards away from his opponent, who wore a pained look on his own face with his hands falling to his sides. Staring at the incomplete battle demon with sweat pouring down the sides of his face and blood trickling down from the corner of his lips, the Quincy fell onto his left knee and dropped the glowing sword in his hand to the ground while grimacing from the sheer shockwave of landing onto the hard soil.

Panting slightly, Sanosuke sneered, saying "It's surprising you managed to move your body so that my attack only hit your left shoulder. Then again, anything hit by my Futae no Kiwami is not safe."

Straightening his back so that he was at full height, the incomplete battle demon added "I'm sure you're curious how my attacked worked. Allow me to fill in the blanks. The first attack I made was meant to neutralize the hardness of my target. However, my second attack is meant for much more. It is meant to break my target before the shock of the first attack can be overcome."

"In essence, that shoulder of yours is history. My first attack weakened the bone, but my second attack shattered it. With only one arm, you can no longer use that bow of yours, plus the sheer pain you're in will limit your movement. This battle is over, priest. You fought well, but there is no way for you to continue this fight and have any hope to win."

Still panting heavily, the Quincy slowed his breathing to shallow pants while closing his eyes. In pain while standing, he rose to his feet and reached over to his left shoulder with his right hand to cradle the damaged limb.

Sucking in a deep breath and calming his breathing completely, Uryū slowly reopened his dark blue eyes and coolly said "You are strong, without a doubt, but this fight is not over yet."

"Is that right, Quincy?" the incomplete battle demon mockingly asked. "Do you intend to go on with one arm? The pain must be excruciating. I doubt you can do much in your weakened condition."

Closing his eyes once more, the Quincy let out a light grunt as slowly his left shoulder began to glow with a light blue aura. Without warning, small strings of light blue energy began forming around his limp limb, seemingly knitting themselves all the way around it and down to his finger tips. The nearly invisible strings suddenly glowed even brighter for a second before they seemingly vanished.

Frowning at the action, the incomplete battle demon began to speak up, but stopped when he saw the fingers of the left hand of the Quincy begin twitching. A moment passed before the Quincy suddenly clenched his left hand into a tight fist and drew it up. Repeatedly, he opened and closed the hand, seemingly testing it.

"What the hell!?" Sanosuke bellowed. "I crushed your shoulder! You couldn't have healed your arm, not with all that damage!"

Flexing his left hand a few more times for good measure, the black haired young man reached up with his right hand and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. With the moonlight reflecting in them, he coolly remarked "You're partially right. I didn't heal my arm."

"Then how is it moving!?" the spike haired demon demanded. "The bone is in millions of pieces!"

Keeping his gaze glued on his opponent, the Quincy icily replied "My shoulder is as you say damaged beyond repair, but the reason it can move is altogether different. Quincy are human after all, so even some of us get to the point where our bodies cannot continue on. Because of that, the Quincy looked for ways to extend their ability to fight as they got older and older. Several techniques were developed to help those who were physically unable to."

Pointing to his left shoulder, Uryū smoothly said "One such ability is known as Ransōtengai. It's a technique usually taught to elderly Quincy who can no longer keep up in battle. The technique uses strings of our holy energy, much like the one I used against you earlier to control my arrow, that wrap around the part of the body that is no longer able to function at full capacity. Once they are created, the threads are linked to our minds, allowing us to mentally control the part of our body that is damaged. More or less, think of it like us using our bodies as puppets."

"Of the Quincy techniques, this is one of the hardest abilities to learn. Few ever master it, but most of those that have are already dead. My Master taught it to me long ago, and I've since took on the responsibility of teaching it to other students."

Clenching his left hand into a fist, the Quincy turned it towards the incomplete battle demon, saying "I also noticed something about your technique. From what I could tell, it was meant to be a killing blow, though I managed to evade that. Apparently, there is a price to pay for using that technique, judging by the position of your right arm. The tremendous force you applied to your hand was so great that when you hit me, it damaged your own arm, meaning your right hand is now useless."

Receiving a shocked look from his opponent, the Quincy coolly added "I could tell when you hit me you were in great pain upon the first shot. That became even more apparent on the second attack, with the sound of your hand seemingly cracking. The one here who is at a disadvantage is you, demon."

Growling lowly, Sanosuke angrily snarled in response "I am not at any disadvantage! I'll kill you still, Quincy!"

Taking a few steps forward and reaching down to retrieve his sword, the black haired young man said nothing while picking it back up with his left hand. Holding it horizontally before his body with the blade giving off a faint humming sound, the Quincy reached up and pushed his glasses up on his nose once more with his right hand while keeping a stoic look.

"This fight is over demon. Why persist?"

Visibly angered by the words of his opponent, the brown haired demon let loose a mighty roar and vanished into thin air. He soon reappeared two feet away from the Quincy with his left hand drawn back in a tight fist and sent it flying at the uncaring face of his opponent.

Not shaken by the attack, the Quincy sidestepped the attack with ease and slashed out at demon, only to miss due that the demon retreated a few feet away. Seemingly not done, the demon charged the Quincy once again, only to have the Quincy vanish into thin air. Reappearing five feet away, the black haired young man moved forward with great quickness and slashed into the back of the brown haired demon, who released a pained roar.

Pulling away quickly, the brown haired demon glared angrily at the Quincy momentarily before snarling out "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT! I WILL NOT LOSE! WITHOUT THAT DAMN SWORD, YOU ARE NOTHING!"

"This fight is over." Uryū declared while holding his sword out horizontally. Placing his right hand behind the blade to stabilize it, he added "I should tell you what the truth about Seeled Schneider. The reason that it vibrates the way it does is not to cut an opponent. No, it is to soften my target's energy and make it easier for me to steal."

"To steal?" Sanosuke questioned with a look of confusion on his face. About to ask something, he suddenly noted red energy beginning to flow out from his wounds and towards the Quincy's weapon and seemingly collect within it. "Wait, what's going on!?"

"Quincy fight by collecting energy from the air around them and transforming it into weapons to use. And Seeled Schneider is the best weapon for helping a Quincy collect energy."

Pausing for a moment, the black haired young man slowly added "Your excess demonic aura is as good as mine."

Eyes widening, the brown haired demon growled dangerously low and clenched his left hand into a tight fist. Sending dark red aura flowing over it, he charged forward towards his opponent, yelling out "Don't mess with me!"

"You got something else wrong, also, or more like I should explain it better. Seeled Schneider is not a sword."

Turning the brilliantly glowing sword downwards with only his left hand and placing his index finger into the notch that was at the bottom of the hilt, the Quincy called forth the light blue energy on his right hand, causing his bow to reform. Placing the slit in the notch on the bow string, he slowly drew it back while taking aim at the seemingly shocked incomplete battle demon.

"Quincy only use bows and arrows. This ends now."

Pulling back slightly more, Uryū released the arrow with ease, causing the hilt of the glowing arrow to suddenly push two arms of light blue energy out. The large arrow took flight at the incomplete battle demon who was still charging.

In a single motion, the arrow pierced into the brown haired demon's left shoulder. Coming to rest at the point where the two arms were extended, the arrow stopped and seemingly let loose a brilliant light blue flash, making the incomplete battle demon roar out in pain. A splashing sound of blood hitting the ground filled the air while the demon fell backwards onto the ground.

A moment passed before the arrow's glow died and the remainder of the hilt of the once thought of sword fell harmlessly to the left side of the incomplete battle demon. Without warning, the body of the demon pulsated, causing his pointed ears to shrink to human shaped ones, his claws to turn to blunt nails, and his fangs to return to normal teeth.

Whimpering lightly, Sanosuke watched as Uryū appeared standing before him with a stoic look on his face. In a pained tone, he whispered "Finish it."

"No."

Eyes widening, the incomplete battle demon watched the Quincy reach forward and pick up the silver hilt of what was once the glowing sword. Placing it back in the notch on his belt, the Quincy silently began to walk away, only stopping once he was five feet away.

"I pierced through your left shoulder with Seeled Schneider, and I also have taken away your demonic powers. They will come back in a day, but until then, you will remain human. Your right hand was already broken, in essence leaving you unable to fight."

Pausing for a moment, he added "Unlike most priests, I choose not to kill most of my opponents. Acting like a demon or cruel humans is above the Quincy."

Glancing over his left shoulder, Uryū added "Remember this fight and never return to this village. If you do, I will not hesitate to finish what I began."

With that said, the Quincy wordlessly walked away, leaving the incomplete battle demon to reflect on the words of his opponent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching the open fields that surrounded the eastern side of the village she had grown up in, Lilly came to a skidding stop and turned to face her opponent while drawing Kimi from it's sheath. Watching the brown haired demon come to stop not far away from herself, the young woman took a deep breath before raising her sword before herself.

"This battleground shall do, wench." Kenji stated in a cool tone.

A touch irritated with the demon's words, Lilly tamped down her anger and asked "Why are you doing this? Neither Iya or myself has done nothing wrong."

"You are wrong." the brown haired demon replied. "His crimes against The Thirteen are very numerous and carry serious repercussions. It is he that killed six of the group, including our great leader, Lord Byakuya Kuchiki. Iya Taisho is the one that killed three out of four founding members of The Thirteen. Just killing any member warranted death. You will also share in his punishment, for it is your fault that two members of The Thirteen fell in battle."

Remaining silent for a moment, the young woman with black hair let out a heavy sigh while closing her light blue eyes. Reopening them slowly, she quietly said "You are being foolish to continue to follow men that are already dead. Byakuya Kuchiki was nothing more than a monster with an ambition to destroy the peace that so many paid for with their lives."

"Lord Byakuya's will shall be carried out, no matter the cost." Kenji stated.

Gripping Kimi's hilt a bit tighter, Lilly replied "Then I have no choice but to stop you. The Thirteen were brought down by my mate for the good of the Four Great Lands. The destruction that Byakuya Kuchiki wished to spread will not be allowed to continue on. No matter what, I won't allow you to keep spreading the ideas of a mad man."

Moving into a forward stance with his left foot leading, the brown haired demon drew out his sword. Watching him widen his stance, the young woman couldn't help but frown at the movements.

"_That stance… I've seen it before, when Iya and Ichigo fought against Kenshin. Could this demon be his son?_"

Running her eyes over the looks of the demon before her, Lilly muttered in her mind "_There is almost no doubt now. This demon, Kenji, he must be Kenshin's son. He has his eyes, plus he looks similar with exception of his hair being brown instead of red, and the fact he doesn't have that cross shaped scar on his left cheek. Yes, this must be him. I have to be careful, because that means he'll have the ability to use fire probably._"

Without warning, the brown haired demon vanished in a flash, leaving the young woman scanning the area with her senses in an attempt to find her opponent. Picking up the trail of her opponent quickly, she instantly swung out with her sword to the side and parried the incoming attack from the brown haired demon.

Finding his sword blocked, the brown haired demon drew back his sword and swung at the young woman at a new angle, only to have her block his attack once more with her sword. The two blades clashed again and again, causing the sound of steel to sing out and sparks to fly into the moonlit air.

After trading blows for nearly twenty minutes, the pair separated, neither having a single scratch on them. Though neither had a scratch, it was obvious by the breathing of the young woman that her body was unused to the exertion she was putting on it.

"I see you have learned to fight while human. I commend you on being able to fight me this long, but in the end, you will fall, just like your filthy half breed mate."

Enraged by the words of the demon, Lilly angrily fired back "You watch your tongue! Iya is more of a man than you could ever be!"

Unaffected by the young woman's words, Kenji coolly replied "Iya Taisho is nothing more than trash, much like yourself."

About to act on her anger, it took all of the black haired young woman's inner strength to not lash out at the demon. Tamping down her anger, she decided to change the subject and asked in an agitated tone "You are Kenshin Himura's child, aren't you? If you are, that means you're blood consists of half fire demon, a quarter neko, and a quarter human."

"So, you have figured that much out on your own, have you now, wench?" the brown haired demon mockingly questioned. "I suppose it's not much of a mystery, seeing how my looks apparently favor his. It is true that I am the son of Kenshin Himura. And much like him, I am a master swordsman."

Digesting the words of the brown haired demon, Lilly calmly asked "Is that why you asked to fight with me? To avenge your father since it was partially my fault for his downfall?"

"Don't flatter yourself, half breed." Kenji nonchalantly remarked. "Kenshin Himura was a powerful mage, but his untimely death was due to his own stupidity. He allowed his lust for you to cloud his judgment, thus allowing that pitiful excuse for a quarter breed to defeat him."

"As for avenging my sire, no, I have no intentions of doing this out of vengeance for him. He paid for his mistakes when that quarter breed killed him."

Closing his violet colored eyes for a moment, the incomplete demon added "I will kill you in the end regardless. You shall pay for your crimes, much like that other half breed."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Lilly coolly said "So that's how it will be. In that case, I offer you my name, so you know who it is that defeats you."

With pride in her voice, the young woman firmly declared "My name is Lilly Taisho, mate to Iya Taisho, who is one of three heirs to the Western Lands."

"It matters not to me." Kenji commented with a bored expression. "I suppose it's only fair for me to give you my own name. I am Kenji Himura, second in command of The Army of The Thirteen."

Pointing his sword at the young woman, the hybrid fire-neko demon declared "It's time I ended your pitiful life. This battle will end with this clash."

About to fire back, Lilly had no time as the hybrid demon vanished into thin air. Reaching out with her senses, the young woman began searching for her opponent. At long last, she picked up on his location and was barely able to dodge the slash intended to run her through from in front of her.

Recovering quickly, the young woman lashed out at the hybrid demon, only to watch him vanish from before her. Moving into a defensive stance, she began trying to find the brown haired demon, only to suddenly sense him materializing above her and coming down quickly with his sword before himself in a downward slashing motion.

"_Not enough time!_" Lilly screamed in her mind while trying to leap backwards out of the way of the incoming attack. Just as she predicted, the blade grazed her chest while she was leaping backwards. Skidding to a stop, she examined the wound for a moment, finding the gash was nothing more than a small flesh wound, but blood was already starting to stain her clothing with her crimson life-force.

Remaining emotionless, the brown haired demon turned his violet eyes towards the wound on the young woman's chest, saying "I'm surprised you managed to avoid being struck down by my blade. Regardless, I think you see the difference in our abilities. You are not fast enough to avoid me, nor are you capable of harming me. Surrender now and I will make your death quick."

Clenching her teeth, the young woman grumbled within her mind "_He's got a point. At this point and time, he's way too fast for me to keep up with. If I was in my hanyou form, I would be able to keep up, but since I'm human tonight, my body is nowhere near quick enough to keep up with his._"

"_Then what will you do, Lilly?_" a familiar voice questioned within her mind.

Mentally smirking, she remarked "_I guess I have no choice but to release you._"

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Lilly mentally steeled her resolve before reopening her eyes. In a calm voice, she firmly said "You're right, my body can't keep up with you, but that doesn't mean this fight is over. I'll just have to beat you with another tactic."

Drawing her sword out to her right side and turning the tip of the blade so that it was pointed at the ground in a diagonal downwards direction, she boldly called out "Roar Haineko!"

Instantly, the blade of the young woman's sword began dissolving into a thin layer of ash. The blade was soon gone and dissolved down to the guard, leaving only itself and the hilt behind in the hand of the black haired young woman. Swirling around the young woman, the ash seemed to form a protective shield around her.

"So the intel we received was correct, you wield a zanpakutō and have managed to achieve the first release, the Shikai." Kenji commented with a bored tone. "Regardless, that will not save you."

Unaffected by the words of the hybrid demon, Lilly extended her right arm towards her opponent, automatically sending the ash that surrounded her racing towards him. Not flinching at the oncoming attack, the hybrid demon vanished in a flash. Hastily, the young woman attempted to pull back the cloud of ash while trying to find her opponent.

Reappearing before the ash was even halfway back to her, the brown haired demon slashed out at the young woman, who in a rash decision used the guard on the remains of her sword to parry the attack. Grinding his sword against the guard of her sword for a moment, the brown haired demon noted the cloud of ash was returning and quickly backed away.

Allowing the ash to surround herself once more, the young woman eyed the demon before her for a moment before sending the ash out after him again. Like before, the demon simply vanished when the ash was halfway to him, forcing the young woman to try and recall it again, only to have a similar experience with the demon.

This time however, Lilly was unable to block the incoming swing of the demon's sword and received a gash on her right shoulder. Cringing from the pain, she quickly slid away backwards, retreating to a safe distance of eight feet. The ash cloud soon returned to her and began swirling around her like a protective barrier.

In her mind, Lilly growled "_Haineko, what are you doing!? I called you back twice now and you just take your good sweet time! That didn't tickle you know!_"

"_Don't blame me for your inability to recall me! I could barely hear your commands, so quit whispering and tell me what to do!_" the aged voice of the sword roared in return.

Pondering on the words of the sword's spirit, the young woman slowly asked "_You couldn't hear my commands?_"

"_No, it's like you're whispering what I need to do! It's hard to hear those whispers. That's why it took me so long to return._"

Pursing her lips, the young woman slowly said "_I've been trying to use you like I always did when in my hanyou form. Is it possible that due that I'm human right now, my commands are not as clear to you?_"

Remaining silent for a few long moments, the spirit retorted "_It could be that that is the case. I've never worked with you in my Shikai state while you were human._"

"_Did Asami ever release you into your Shikai state while she was in her human form?_"

Thinking it over, the spirit finally replied "_No, she never did. She trained to wield me like a normal sword, but never released me into my Shikai form during those times._"

Digesting the responses from the spirit of her sword, the young woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Reopening them slowly, she mentally mumbled "_That must mean due that I'm human right now, my ability to command you is limited. Being human must be dulling my ability to issue out commands to you mentally. I thought releasing you would give me the advantage, but instead I've made a very hazardous weakness. There is no way I can beat this guy now…_"

"_So you say._" Haineko snidely remarked.

Inwardly frowning, Lilly angrily asked "_And what's that supposed to mean!? I've created a large weakness that will make me an easy target. There is no way to take advantage of it!_"

"_If you have a weakness, make it your strength._" the spirit commented.

"_I don't understand what you're saying._"

Releasing a loud and audible sigh, the voice of the spirit growled out "_Why must you hanyous be so thickheaded? I swear that both you and Asami never seem to want to think on your own. What I'm trying to say is use my slowed reaction time to your advantage. Make him believe that you're getting weaker, only to lure him in to a false sense of security. Once he believes you're losing all ability to control me, he'll try to finish you off. That's when you need to press the advantage._"

Mulling over the words of the spirit, Lilly mumbled "_That could work…_"

"_Of course it could work!_" Haineko roared in response. "_I wouldn't tell you to do something if I didn't know it would work, fool! No get to it before he kills you!_"

Smirking inwardly, the young woman wistfully responded "_Whatever you say, Kimi._"

Growling at the use of his nickname, the sword became began to respond, only to be ignored by the young woman who left the inner sanctum of her mind. Refocusing her attention onto the demon before her, the young woman slid back onto her right foot and moved her left foot forward slightly, putting her into a low left front stance.

"You intend to continue this pointless battle." Kenji stated with mild annoyance resonating in his voice. "Why bother, wench? You cannot win."

Unaffected by the words of her opponent, Lilly remarked "I learned long ago from my mate to never give up, no matter the odds."

"Such foolishness." the brown haired demon commented with disdain in his voice. "You should have chosen a quick death, but now you will suffer greatly instead."

Watching the hybrid demon vanish into thin air, the young woman attempted to track his movements. Her eyes identified his location quickly, allowing her to quickly try to move out of the way of the incoming attack from her left side.

Narrowly escaping the attack, the young woman pointed the remains of her sword towards the hybrid demon, commanding the ash cloud to attack him. Moving forward in a slow motion, the cloud of ash went towards it's intended target, only to have it's target disappear before it could even cover a quarter of the distance to him.

Quick to switch back from offense to defense, Lilly attempted to recall the ash to herself, only to growl with irritation when she saw it flying back slowly. Using her senses, she quickly found the hybrid demon closing in at a fast pace from behind. Trying to leap away, she could not avoid the tip of the blade of her opponent, which cut through the cloth that covered her back and left a long bloody slash on her back.

Hissing in pain while spinning around to face the hybrid demon, the young woman came to a stop while gritting her teeth. Panting slightly, she watched the cloud of ash encircle her protectively like normally. Casting a scowl at the hybrid demon, she shot right arm forward, wordlessly commanding the ash to attack it's target. Obeying, the ash went sailing after it's target at a slow speed, only to have it's target vanish again like before.

Immediately, the black haired young woman attempted to have the ash return to her, only to have it move ever so slowly back towards her. Eyes widening due to her senses screaming to her that she was in danger, Lilly suddenly leapt into the air, only to narrowly avoid being impaled upon the blade of the brown haired demon.

Hitting the ground panting, the young woman fell to one knee while the ash cloud returned to her and began to protectively encircle her like always.

"Impressive that you have not been felled by my blade yet, wench." Kenji commented. "Your eyes are sharp, I'll grant you that, but for you to keep evading me, you'll need to keep moving at the speed you are currently. From my analysis, you won't last much longer."

"Then there is that useless sword of yours that constantly attempts to harm me. You are unable to wield it in your human form I gather. It seems that you are losing the ability to control it even more so as the battle drags on."

Earning himself a grunt from the young woman, the hybrid demon drew the sheath of his sword out of his obi and sheathed the sword before his body. Turning it so the hilt was pointing downwards, he held the sword on his left hip and allowed his right hand to remain on the hilt of the sword. Moving back into a deep right forward stance, the hybrid demon cast his violet eyes onto his opponent and hardened them into what looked like cold eyes.

"_That stance… It's just like Ichigo described it._" Lilly mumbled in her mind.

"This is the end for you, wench." Kenji coldly stated. "I will finish you with the very move that made Kenshin Himura famous throughout Japan. This move is known as Shinsoku, a type of Battōjutsu. It will be the last thing you ever see in this lifetime."

Keeping her eyes trained on the demon before her, the young woman coolly replied "It doesn't have to end this way, Kenji Himura."

Seemingly unaffected by her words, the hybrid demon spoke up, saying "Your death is inevitable, wench. Begging for it will not change my mind. On this night, you will die, along with your mate."

Inwardly sighing, Lilly slid her eyes shut for a moment before slowly reopening them to reveal hardened light blue eyes. "_Kimi, I think now is the time to reveal I still have more control over you than he thinks._"

"_Quit using that name you infuriating woman!_" the voice of the sword angrily fired back.

Knowing she had gotten a rise out of the spirit, she sarcastically replied "_No need to get huffy with me, Kimi._"

"_I swear, if not for the fact Lord Inutaisho is already dead, I would kill him myself for allowing him to place me with not one, but two hanyous who cannot learn to respect me!_"

Rolling her eyes mentally, Lilly replied "_Quit complaining and tell me if you think now is the time to strike._"

Growling, the spirit became silent for a moment before he softly remarked "_This is dangerous, Lilly. That technique looks like he's ready to kill anyone who comes near him._"

"_I know, but I know that technique._"

"_How?_" the spirit questioned.

Smiling at the surprise in the sound of the spirit, Lilly replied "_Ichigo fought Kenshin Himura several months ago, but after the fight, I asked him about the fight. He told me all the info on the fight, including the special attacks that Kenshin used against him in the battle. The stance that this demon is in now, it's one of Kenshin's attacks, and one of his most famous at that. That technique is meant to speed up the ability for him to cut down an opponent by drawing his sword from it's sheath. It's very deadly, if it hits, but if not, he'll be wide open._"

"_But I have no intentions of dodging. I plan to block his attack with your help._"

"_How do you intend to do that?_" Haineko asked.

Once more inwardly smiling, the young woman responded with "_I know the timing for that technique. Ichigo told me how long it took Kenshin to draw his sword. It's not much of an interval, but I should be able to position you before me to stop his attack. Once I do that, he'll be in shock probably, and that's when we strike back._"

Mulling over the words of the young woman, the spirit slowly said "_You do realize you will be placing yourself in danger. If you miscalculate the timing by even a small bit…_"

"_I won't._" Lilly interrupted in a firm voice. "_I have no intentions on dying today and taking my mate with me to the grave. I know I can win this battle, and this is most likely the only chance I'll have to do so. So, will you help me, Haineko?_"

Releasing a heavy sigh, the ash spirit replied "_I will always help you, Lilly. Just remember, if you miss, there will most likely be no second chances._"

Coming out of her mental conversation, the young woman stared down the brown haired demon, who seemed to be patiently waiting for her to attack. Seeing his hand was still on the hilt of his sword, she bit her lower lip while sliding her eyes shut for a moment.

"_I can do this. I know I can. Iya is counting on me to come back to him, so no matter what, I can't die here in this fight. I refuse to die here._"

Slowly, Lilly opened her eyes, revealing ice cold blue eyes. Gripping the hilt of her sword tighter, she began to walk forward in a slow motion before gradually picking up speed. At last, she was in a full out run with the ash cloud continuing to surround her.

Watching his opponent racing towards him, the hybrid demon remained still while keeping his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Eyes narrowing, he suddenly grabbed hold of the hilt of his sword with his right hand and drew it out with god like speed. In mid-swing, his sword was suddenly brought to a screeching halt, earning a look of complete shock from the hybrid demon.

Looking up to see why his sword had stopped, the brown haired incomplete demon saw that the cloud of ash that normally encircled the black haired woman was holding his blade in place. Giving a tug, he quickly found the ash had a firm hold and would not release his sword.

Finding his voice, Kenji slowly asked "How… How did you stop my attack? You weren't able to move your sword at that speed before, so tell me how you are doing this."

Receiving no answer immediately, the hybrid demon attempted to wrestle his sword out of the ash's grip, only to find he still could not move the sword. Before he could do or say anything else, the remainder of the cloud of ash wrapped around his body and effectively held him in place.

"The reason I was able to stop your sword is I knew what your attack would look like." Lilly calmly answered.

Getting a look of confusion from her opponent, she added "You said that a worthless quarter breed killed Kenshin Himura. That worthless quarter breed as you call him happens to be my friend, Ichigo Kurosaki. He is far from worthless and could have just as easily stopped you from striking himself. That's beside the point though."

"Ichigo is the one that told me about your attack. He explained to both myself and my mate what the attack was like when he fought Kenshin. If not for him sharing that information, I'd have never been able to block your attack. Because I knew how your attack would progress, I determined the most logical time to stop your attack."

Pausing for a moment, the young woman soon said "As for why I was able to stop your attack with more speed than you thought I had, that's simple. You see, like you, I deduced that in my human form, I'm unable to control Haineko as well as I normally could in my hanyou form. I control him mentally and issue out commands within my mind, but due that I'm human, he can't hear my command as well. In this form, Haineko can only move at half his original speed. That isn't much I grant you."

"But we came up with a plan. I held back his speed while we were fighting, luring you into a false sense of security and giving you the analysis that I was getting weaker, when in reality, I was still the same. I simply waited for an opening, and you gave me one to work with."

Growling lowly, Kenji grit out "You played me for a fool…"

"That's right." Lilly responded. "And now, this fight is over. Haineko, now!"

All at once, the ash that surrounded the hybrid demon began tightening it's hold. Without warning, the hybrid demon screamed out in pain as the places where the ash held him began receiving numerous cuts and scratches. Blood splashed to the ground with a sickening sound, but the hybrid demon remained standing on shaky legs. Looking up with pained eyes and blood slipping out from his lips, he cracked a small sneer.

"You're… still… going to… die, wench." Kenji said in a mere whisper.

Moving closer to the hybrid demon, Lilly balled up her left hand into a tight fist and drew it back before launching it forward into the jaw of the hybrid demon. The punch knocked the demon out on contact, but left the young woman wincing in pain.

Shaking her left hand, the young woman grumbled "Damn, forgot when I'm human it hurts me more when I punch someone with a hard head."

Letting out a small sigh, she silently commanded the ash holding the hybrid demon to release him. Gently, the ash laid the unconscious demon onto the ground before returning to encircle her once more. Extending her right arm, she watched the ash reform the blade of her sword. Sheathing it, she took one last look at the unconscious form on the ground.

"You were a tough opponent, but you underestimated my abilities. I'll return for you once I'm sure all of your friends are rounded up."

With that, Lilly turned on her toes and began walking back in the direction of the village, only to stop after a few more feet and looking off in the direction of the south.

Reaching out with her senses, she felt the presence of two demonic auras. Shutting out everything else around her, the young woman began focusing more and more on the auras. One felt familiar and comforting, while the other seemed somewhat familiar, but not at the same time.

Though the two felt familiar, she realized the difference in the two. One was much more massive while the more familiar of the two was diminished and not nearly as strong as the other.

"Iya…" Lilly whispered into the air before breaking into a run in the direction of southwest. "_I am on my way, so please, just hold on!_"


	6. Chapter 6: The Brutal Truth

**Hello once more everyone! So, the last two weeks have been interesting. At work, we finally managed to push out our project that I was working on, though I think I said that last time. We did get a few bugs in on it from the release, but nothing major. I had them fixed within a few days, plus I caught one bug on my own, so go me! As of right now, I'm up on a business trip in Dayton, OH, to see the home office. I have a meeting today on the next project I'm a part of, which should be interesting I think. Plus I've done some research on a personal little project that I want to bring up to the manager here in Dayton and see what he thinks. Hmm, other than that, I was pretty busy last week in the hay fields, but it wasn't too bad. Well, other than Friday when a piece on the tractor I was on fell onto the floorboard. I luckily found it and kept it with me, but the tractor seemed to still function, so I went on with what I was doing. I eventually shut it off to do something, only to come back and find I couldn't start the thing, lol. We finally got it fixed Saturday, and come to find out the piece I found, which was a small metal strip, was a piece that helped the tractor start. It had been broken in the past apparently, but was easy enough to fix once more. Not much else happening that I know of. My mom came in this week, but I didn't get to see her due to this trip. Oh yeah, the interesting thing about this trip. It suddenly came up out of nowhere. I went home early Friday, only to come in Tuesday (got Monday off) to find out we had a business trip planned. It worked out, but still, it was kind of a surprise. Ah, yes, that's right, my mate has a job interview today also, which is great. I hope she gets it. She deserves a break from all of this non-job finding luck she's had.**

**Writing wise, I got a good bit done last week and intended to do the same this week, but no such luck at the moment. I do plan to write maybe tonight and tomorrow, but we'll see. Since I have this trip going on, I wouldn't count on it, but then again, you never know.**

**Moving along, it's time for reviews!**

**The Rainwalker: Your avatar looked pretty cool. Heh, yeah, it's good to have an account on . I need to check out your blog again sometime. I did once, but haven't really had time since. Lol, well, Uryu isn't completely out of commission. He does have a broken left shoulder, which he can use thanks to his one technique, but otherwise, yes, he's somewhat used up. Thanks about the battle scene. Yeah, I actually used Kenshin's son from the series/movie to be Lilly's opponent. Kaoru (sp?) was her name (the person you were thinking of that had a son with Kenshin in the anime). But yes, Ichigo filled Lilly and Iya in on his battle with Kenshin, giving her the advantage in this fight since Kenji fights like his father. Heh, true, Kenji had a defeat coming to him for underestimating Lilly's abilities while she was human and paid big time for it. Yeppers, Iya's battle is coming up, which was probably the one that I found the most fun to write honestly. Cool about finishing up things for Kumoricon. Alright, when you get the pics up, I'll take a look. I glanced at that forums the other week, but that was about it. Didn't get much of a chance to really do anything. Thanks for the review!**

**Katana: Heh, a short and sweet review. Thanks about the fights and for the review!**

**Well, that's it for this session. Thank you, both of you, for reviewing my chapter. It really means a lot to me to hear what people actually think of my story. I know many say that you gauge a story by looking at how many people added your story or yourself to their favorites list, but truthfully, I'd rather find out via reviews. At least within them you know what the other person's opinion is, which is very helpful in making adjustments to the story when necessary. Ah yes, thanks to both alice's sister and Ms. Roxxi Starlight for adding my story to their favorites list. I look forward to hearing from both you in reviews if you have the time. Also, to any who haven't reviewed, I do encourage you to do so. Good or bad, I love hearing what people are thinking while reading my stories.**

**Anyways, thanks once more to everyone who read this chapter. I'll be back in a few weeks as always. Till then, enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Reaching a clearing that was a few miles away from the peaceful village that his mate was raised in, Iya came to a stop and turned to face the white haired demon. Looking him over, he found no visible weaknesses.

"_He seems to be in perfect form. If I had to guess by the looks of him, he's probably nearly my age. That must mean he's one of the older children of The Thirteen._"

"This battleground you have chosen is an acceptable graveyard." the white haired demon stoically stated, effectively breaking the black haired young man out of his thoughts.

Turning his full attention to the demon, Iya ran his eyes over him once more before calmly asking "You're a half dog demon, aren't you?"

Not showing any emotion, the white haired demon nodded his head in reply, saying "Your powers of observation serve you well, Iya Taisho. I am indeed a dog hanyou. Now, prepare yourself for the punishment that you have been given."

"I would rather find a peaceful solution to this issue." Iya coolly remarked. "There is no point for us to fight. The Thirteen are all dead, with exception of one, and she left them before the remainder of them died. Peace is reigning over the Four Lands, so why bother to stir up trouble once more?"

"The Lords of the Four Lands will fall in good time, but until then, The Army of The Thirteen must punish those who had a hand in the fall of The Thirteen. At this moment, you are the top priority of our group, so you shall fall first. You cannot avoid this fate."

Releasing a heavy sigh, Iya asked "Then there is no changing your mind?"

Reaching behind himself and taking hold of the hilts of the two swords that were sticking out horizontally on his backside, the white haired demon drew both, saying "You will die here for your crimes."

Drawing Ketsaiga from it's sheath, Iya called forth it's transformation, changing the sword into it's halberd form, and brought it before his body. "I don't intend on dying."

"You will." the white haired demon responded. "Before we start, I will tell you my name. I am Yukio Kuchiki, son of Byakuya Kuchiki, and leader of The Army of The Thirteen."

Eyeing his opponent, a frown appeared onto the dark haired young man's face. "_He's Byakuya's son? Does that mean he is Kaia's son also, or was he born before she became Byakuya's slave? Another odd thing, he said he was a dog hanyou, but how could he be Byakuya's son if he has nothing but dog demon blood in his veins? Wolf demon characteristics are not hard to spot, but he seems to be completely dog._"

Coming out of his thoughts, Iya threw his attention back to the hanyou across from him. "I am Iya Taisho, son of Inutaisho Taisho, and brother to the current Western Lord, Sesshomaru Taisho."

Both the hanyou and human took up fighting stances, each silently preparing for the confrontation that was about to begin. Each stared one another down, neither willing to make the first move.

After five minutes of staring at his opponent, the black haired young man growled within his mind "_Damn, he's making me wait this out. There is less than an hour till sunrise, but I'll never be able to use Ketsaiga that long. I have maybe thirty minutes, forty at best. I have to make a decision now on what I intend on doing._"

"_I could go at him with everything I have and maybe last fifteen to twenty minutes, or I could keep my distance and last the full length of my time. Either way, I won't be able to last till dawn before Ketsaiga's feedback starts affecting me._"

Letting out a small sigh, Iya hardened his eyes and gripped the hilt of Ketsaiga a bit tighter. "_I have no choice. If I want to live, I need to take the fight to him._"

Slowly inching his left foot forward, the black haired young man suddenly broke into a run at full stride. Racing towards the white haired hanyou, he raised the large halberd above his head and swung downwards at his opponent. Raising both blades, the hanyou expertly caught the large sword between the two, sending a flurry of sparks into the air along with the sound of steel clashing with steel.

Pushing down hard against the twin swords of the dog hanyou, the black haired human suddenly noted the look of serenity on the face of his opponent. Without warning, Iya felt himself pushed away and very wide open. Taking the opportunity to strike out, the hanyou swung the sword in his left hand at the black haired man, only to have his sword blocked by the large halberd. Not finished, he lashed out with his other sword at the unguarded side of his opponent. Instead of making contact, the hanyou watched the large halberd shift so to block the second blow.

Retreating a short distance of eight feet, the hanyou brought both swords before himself and tapped the ends of the two hilts together and twisted. Pulling, he revealed that the hilts were now connected with a chain holding the two of them together. Releasing the blade in his right hand, the hanyou took hold of the chain and began spinning the sword rapidly.

"_What's this?_" Iya questioned while keeping an eye on the spinning sword. "_His swords, they can become connected? And if that's the case, that means I can't keep my distance from him. Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought._"

Withdrawing from his mind, the black haired young man watched the white haired dog hanyou launch the spinning blade at himself, making him raise his sword up and prepare to defend himself. The blade came sailing through the air with incredible speed and aimed straight for the head of the black haired human. Not taking his eyes off of it, he drew up his halberd and used the broad side of it to knock the flying blade away.

Jerking the chain back that was connected to his second sword, the white haired hanyou returned the blade towards his body and began twirling it around this time over his head. Taking to the air, he launched the twirling blade straight down at his opponent, who only readied himself for the strike.

Using Ketsaiga to knock the sailing blade aside, Iya readied himself for the next strike while watching the hanyou jerk the chain connected to his blade back. Without warning, he suddenly felt a blade slash across his back. Falling to one knee, he watched as the blade of the hanyou went flying back towards it's master.

"_Damn, he's far more skilled with long range attacks than I thought he'd be. I should have known when I knocked the blade away he'd manipulate it so it came back at me from behind._ _At least the wound isn't that bad, from what I can tell. He didn't cut too deep, thankfully._"

Woken from his thoughts roughly by the sound of a rattling chain, the black haired human barely had time to roll out of the way of the incoming blade. Hearing it strike the ground and then be recalled, he got back to his feet and cast a scowl at the dog hanyou.

"_I can't let my thoughts distract me._" Iya mentally scolded.

Swinging the one blade on it's chain through the air, Yukio tossed it once more at his opponent, only to have him again evade the strike by rolling out of the way. Drawing back the blade, he flung it at the black haired human once again, but this time at a diagonal angle.

Focusing on the diagonal swing, Iya quickly parried the attack with Ketsaiga, sending the blade flying over his left shoulder. Realizing the positioning of the flying blade, he attempted to move, only to grit his teeth as the blade suddenly came sliding back over his left shoulder, easily cutting into him and leaving a trail of crimson behind it.

Clutching his new wound, the black haired human glared at the dog hanyou, who kept his face expressionless. No emotions seemed to be within the muddy brown eyes of the hanyou, who drew back his blade and separated the two. Placing the two blades together, the swords glowed slightly before melding together and forming a much larger blade. It was now the length of the halberd that the black haired human had, but unlike his sword, it had a much more intricate design to it, with numerous curves, mainly two on the blade side. Just above the hilt, there was red runic lettering that seemed to be the color of blood.

Eyeing the new form of his opponent's sword, Iya could hardly suppress a growl of irritation within his mind. "_Great, that sword has yet another form. Thus far, he's shown me three forms, but this form seems different, like it's the sword's natural form. I can feel the demonic energy just radiating from it, unlike the previous forms._"

Racing towards the human, Yukio increased his speed to it's demonic limiters. Eyes widening upon realizing what the hanyou was doing, Iya barely managed to bring Ketsaiga up to parry the attack of his opponent. The two swords sang out into the nighttime air with the song of steel clashing with steel while bright red spark ignited from the fierce struggle.

Drawing back his blade, the hanyou struck out at the human again. Parrying the attack once more, the human managed to stave off the attack. Pulling their blades apart, both swung their swords at one another, only to have the two swords sing out into the air with the melody of battle. Again and again, the two fighters continued to clash, each time with neither side getting the advantage over the other.

After nearly ten minutes, the hanyou and human retreated from one another, with the human digging his sword into the ground and panting lightly while falling to one knee. Seeing this, the hanyou could not help but allow a small smirk to form on his face.

"You are weak, Iya Taisho."

Standing up, Iya growled back "Try fighting an excellent opponent when you are nothing more than a human."

Letting out a soft grunt, Yukio coolly replied "I would have preferred to fight you when you were hanyou so I could prove to you my true strength, but as you are, you won't last till dawn. That was your aim, wasn't it?"

Clenching his empty hand, the black haired human could not help but lower his gaze to the ground, allowing his eyes to become shadowed by his bangs. Silence filled the air for a few more moments before the hanyou broke it.

"I will execute you here tonight for your crimes. They are many and numerous crimes you have committed against not only The Thirteen, but others as well."

Slowing his breathing and standing up while releasing his hold on the hilt of his sword, Iya frowned and replied "What I did to The Thirteen was to bring peace to the Four Lands. It was The Thirteen who disrupted the peace and brought nothing but death and destruction to them. My father ordered me to track them down and to defeat them, and I did so. You can say I am guilty of killing them, but I did what was necessary to stop the violence they were spreading."

In a somber tone, he added "Besides that, I have harmed very few, but I have atoned for those crimes."

"Lying is not an acceptable response, Iya Taisho." Yukio firmly stated, with what seemed like anger mixed in with his voice. Calming it a bit, he added "You have killed many in your lifetime and ruined all of their lives due to your evil ways. I am here to correct that mistake."

Noting the changes in the tone of the white haired hanyou, the black haired human continued to frown. "_It's like he got angrier for a second, but had to force his anger down. Could it be he knows someone I killed that was close to him possibly?_"

Waking from his thoughts by the sound of fast approaching footsteps, the human quickly reached out for the hilt of his sword and drew it out of the ground. Bringing it up quickly, he barely managed to parry a heavy downwards slash that the dog hanyou had struck out at him with. The two blades grinded against one another for a moment before the hanyou began going on the attack with a quick succession of thrusts, putting Iya on the defensive and trying to evade or parry each of the thrusts. Sparks flew from the two blades each time the two collided together.

Breaking apart, the two opponents stared one another down, each looking for an opening in the other's defenses. Finding none, the hanyou drew his sword before his body and gripped the hilt of his blade a bit tighter. Instantly, a bright silver aura burst from the blade and engulfed the hanyou's body.

Biting his lower lip, Iya groaned inwardly. "_I know I'm going to regret this, but I have to keep in step with him and wait for the right moment to counter him. At this pace he's setting, I won't last too long._"

Clutching the hilt of Ketsaiga a bit more, the human slid his eyes shut. A moment later, a light blue aura formed around the blade in his hands and seemingly danced around it. Opening his eyes, he locked eyes with the hanyou.

Without a word uttered, the two charged at one another, each with the blades before their bodies. Reaching each other, the hanyou and the human's blades clashed, with both demon blades' auras seemingly fighting for supreme dominance over the other. Neither gave an inch, with the two swords seemingly on even footing.

Cringing from the pain of the demonic aura that was flowing through his hands, the human leapt backwards abruptly. Panting heavily while sweat poured down his face, he allowed the tip of his blade to touch the ground. The demonic aura was immediately dismissed, leaving the human to keep his eyes trained on the hanyou, who only showed minor fatigue by slightly panting.

"_Damn, he's good. That blade of his has just as much power as Ketsaiga. If I was hanyou right now, I might enjoy this fight more, but as it stands right now, I have to just find a way to survive this fight for less than an hour. It's the only way I'll make it._"

Eyes widening a fraction when the hanyou vanished, Iya barely had enough time to raise Ketsaiga off of the ground and parry the attack of his opponent.

"What's the matter, Iya Taisho? Tell me this isn't the limit to what you can do. You will be dead soon if it is." Yukio smoothly declared.

Feeling his body beginning to strain from the strength the hanyou was pressing upon him, Iya grit his teeth. Drawing upon the strength of his sword, he called forth the light blue demonic aura of the sword. Tightening his grip on the hilt of the blade, he released a throaty roar.

"WIND SLASH!"

Erupting from the blade, a white demonic blast of energy slammed into the hanyou, who could hardly suppress a gasp of shock. Using his blade as a shield, he was thrown backwards by the blast, sending dust and debris flying into the air from the pure power of the explosion.

Panting heavily while his now left hand trembled, the human kept his brown eyes fixed on the cloud of dust. Slowly, he saw the dust lift, revealing a mostly unscathed hanyou. His clothing was covered in dust for the most part, with his sleeves being ripped up a bit, along with his pants. Other than that, he was physically unharmed.

In a calm tone, Yukio coolly said "That attack is seemingly weaker than what I was told of it. I take it that is due that you're human and you are unable to control the demonic energy you release. Am I right?"

Receiving no answer, the hanyou pressed on, saying "It is an impressive attack nonetheless, even if you cannot properly control it in your human form. To be able to release it even as you are is even more impressive."

"Still, it will not change your fate. Why deny the inevitable conclusion of this fight? Can't you see, there is no chance of you defeating me in combat while you are human?"

Gradually slowing his labored breaths, Iya cast a fierce glare in the direction of the hanyou, saying "I won't give up! Death is not an option for me. I have people who are depending on me, so I cannot lose this fight to you."

Sliding his muddy brown eyes shut and letting out a slight sigh of irritation, the hanyou suddenly snapped them back open as he heard the sound of heavy footsteps racing towards him. Watching the black haired human charge him with his sword drawn to his side, the hanyou prepared himself for the incoming attack.

The two blades struck out at one another, once more clashing against each other, with neither willing to give up. Both the hanyou and human struck out at one another, each attempting to force the other into submission. The sound of steel singing out filled the air while the two continued to wage battle, each trying to create an opening on the other, but both were unsuccessful.

After ten minutes, the pair separated once more, with each panting, but the human seemingly completely out of breath while the hanyou's breathing was not very deep. Not changing the expression on his face, the hanyou calmed his breathing down till he was no longer panting.

"You are defeated, Iya Taisho. Death is inevitable."

Driving his sword into the ground, Iya released his grip on the hilt, allowing the blade to reverse it's transformation back to a small sword. Placing both hands on his knees, he hunched over and attempted to catch his breath.

"_It's taking everything I've got just to keep up with him. At this rate, I'll only last another ten or fifteen minutes, at best. There is probably still close to thirty or forty minutes till dawn, and there is just no way for me to hold out that long._"

Looking up and over into the hanyou's eyes, the human frowned. At last catching his breath, he drew himself back up to full height, saying "I am curious about something. You say that you are the son of Byakuya Kuchiki, but yet I cannot see any traces of wolf demon features on you."

In a stoic reply, Yukio said "It is true, I have no wolf demon features on my person. That is due that Lord Byakuya adopted me as his son when I was born."

Digesting the information returned to him, Iya calmly asked "Then who were your parents? You don't look a thing like Jiraiya or Tsunade, and only Kurama and Byakuya created dog hanyou slaves, but it's impossible for either to have been your father due that you would show more signs of a dominant blood line from one of them."

Receiving no answer, the human pressed on, saying "Telling me will be of no consequence. You told me that I will not survive till dawn, so if you tell me this, it won't matter since I can't keep your secret. It's not like I knew your parents…"

"Shut up." a cold voice cut through the air, making the human look into dark, angry eyes of the hanyou. "You know nothing about my family…"

"Then explain…"

"YOU DESERVE NO EXPLINATION, YOU BASTARD!" Yukio screamed with anger ringing in his voice.

A touch shocked at the sudden outburst, Iya barely had time to react as the hanyou suddenly vanished into thin air. Reaching out and drawing Ketsaiga back out of the ground and transforming it back into it's halberd state, he barely managed to parry a powerful downwards slash form the hanyou.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE'S GONE! YOU DID ALL OF THIS TO HER! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, SHE'D STILL BE HERE!" Yukio angrily screamed out while drawing back his sword once more.

Bringing it downwards, the hanyou smashed his blade into the human's, sending sparks flying and the human sinking into the ground a bit. Drawing back his blade, the hanyou split the blade back into it's two separate sword pieces. Without stopping, he began slamming his blades in quick successions into the horizontal blade of the human, who let out a heavy grunt from the fierce strikes.

Suddenly, the hanyou stopped and spun around. Spinning back towards the human, he struck out with a heavy round house kick, sending the black haired human flying into the air and tumbling to the ground in a rolling fashion.

Being tossed along the ground, Iya felt his clothing become ripped up from the friction of the ground, along with many scratches and scrapes starting to accumulate. Trying to stop himself, he dug Ketsaiga into the ground, bringing him to a complete stop and allowing him to slowly stand back up. On his feet once more, he glanced at his opponent, noting the fierce silver demonic aura surrounding him.

Glaring at Iya with hardened muddy brown eyes swirling with anger, Yukio pointed a blade at him and ground out "You are the one that defiled my mother's soul! It's because of you she never got to truly live the life that she deserved. It's because of you that she's no longer with me."

"You are the one that ruined everything for her! If I had had it my way, you would have been killed years ago!"

Frowning, the black haired human sorted through the angry words of the hanyou and slowly replied "I don't know who your mother was, but I would never do such a thing to someone."

"LIAR!" Yukio accused. "It was you who betrayed her and destroyed everything she had worked for in her life. It's because of you that she was forced to flee her home due to the shame of what you did to her!"

Still not understanding, Iya began to reply, only to be cut off by the hanyou, who spoke in a hard tone. "My mother, she was so sweet and kind. She never deserved the burden you forced her to take on."

Looking into the eyes of the hanyou, the black haired human calmly asked "Who was she?"

Glaring fiercely back at his opponent with a look that could kill, Yukio snarled out "You are truly despicable and ignorant for not knowing."

Not receiving an answer, the hanyou ground out "My mother's name is someone you should never have been able to forget, but I see you never cared about her, just like she thought. Her name…"

Looking straight into Iya's eyes, Yukio firmly said "… was Kaia Arisawa."

Gasping in shock at the words of the hanyou, the young man across from him tried to find words to express his thoughts, but none came to his mouth. Nothing could escape his throat.

"_He... is... her son?_"

Allowing the information to sink in, Iya closed his eyes, mumbling in his mind "_No wonder he has so much hatred for me. I wronged Kaia so long ago, and it was because of me she died in the end. To him, I must be someone who has destroyed his life._"

Opening his eyes slowly, he noted that the hanyou's muddy brown eyes were boring into his own with anger still swirling within them. "I am truly sorry for the loss of your mother. What I did to her so long ago…"

"Don't even try to apologize for that." Yukio roughly bit out. "You can never apologize for crimes that you committed against her. She suffered her entire life thanks to you. Nothing I did could ever help her with feelings you left her with. They constantly consumed her, leaving her crying for hours on end. Almost every night I heard her cry herself to sleep, all because of what you did!"

Quieting for a moment, the hanyou slowly added "I knew in my heart when she left with Lord Byakuya that it would be the last time I would ever see her. I tried to convince her to let me go in her place, but she refused, saying she would end your life once and for all and at last be at peace. When the news came back that both her and Lord Byakuya had died in battle, I was plunged into deep grief. My worst fears of what would happen to her had been realized, and yet I was beside myself for what had happened."

"You are the one that caused her so much pain! It was your selfish actions nearly three hundred years ago that caused her so much pain! You raped her for your own pleasure, but that wasn't enough for you, now was it!? No, you allowed her to be ridiculed and treated as nothing more than a common whore! You did absolutely nothing for her!"

Feeling the sting of each of the words from the hanyou, Iya quietly replied "I tried to make amends with her…"

"YOU DID NOTHING!" Yukio roared in response. "All you did was allow her to be treated as nothing more than garbage. She told me how you pretended to be her friend, but when she needed you the most, you abandoned her! I know all of the despicable things you did to her, so don't even deny it!"

Looking down at the ground and digesting the words of the hanyou, Iya slowly looked up, softly saying "I cared about your mother. She was my best friend, and what I did to her will always haunt me till my own death. The crime I committed against her, it will always be unforgivable. I've spent many years carrying the guilt around over what I have done, and though it is not in the forefront of my mind anymore, I know it is still there and I worry that one day, something like what happened to her could happen again. I never want to do such a terrible thing to anyone else again."

"Still, I cannot allow you to execute me. I still atone for what I did and will always so long as I live. There are too many people who depend on me now that I cannot allow my life to come to an end. I am truly sorry for what I did to your mother, Kaia, but like I told her, I cannot sacrifice my life for my crime."

"I knew you would refuse." Yukio growled out with anger visible in his voice. "Mother always said you were a weakling that would never take responsibility."

Sliding his eyes shut, the hanyou slowly opened them, saying "She was so right about you. My mother knew that you would never take proper responsibility for what you had done."

Pausing for a moment, he pointed a blade at the human and asked "Do you want to know the real truth to why my mother left the protection of the Western Lands?"

"It was because of what you had done, and what came of that night. The real reason she had to leave wasn't because of the rumors of what she was said to be. No, those were hurtful for her to hear but not enough to make her leave."

Gripping the hilts of his swords tightly, Yukio coldly ground out "The true reason for her leaving the Western Lands was what came of that night. She became pregnant with me."

"You are my sire, Iya Taisho."


	7. Chapter 7: Desperate Struggle

**Hey there everyone! So, what's new in my life, hmm… My dad and I have nearly finished putting up hay for the year, though we have one more field to cut, yet it has begun to become rainy once more. That's alright, after dealing with the hay we bailed last… The bailer dad bought last year throws a very heavy bail out, which I knew in first cutting. Well, the bails we picked up last week were even heavier, which was shocking to me since the hay was dry and good and all. I'd say they weighed at least 80-100 lbs each. Now imagine about 80-100 of those, lol. Needless to say, I was exhausted after that night. Heh, even dad was, which was kind of humorous in itself. He is determined to find out if he can adjust that thing so that it throws a lighter bail, or else he's getting rid of the bailer. Hopefully it can be adjusted, because having a second bailer is handy. Makes it easier for when we move the equipment between farms. Anyways, I'm supposed to paint my grandfather's (dad's side) roof with roof paint when I get a chance. Ugh, I did that last year, but for some reason, one side is rusting out faster than it should be. I'm not a fan of heights to start with, but add painting into the mix just sets me up for a really nerve racking time. (/Lets out a puff of sigh smoke.\) Ah yes, I did finally get the results of my sleep study test. And the results say: I'm normal… So I did that test for nothing, like I figured all along. (/Releases another puff of sigh smoke.\) Plus I got the bill for that, which wasn't cheap. Ah yes, and to top it all off, the doctor noted in his letter that if I had any questions, I could make an appointment to discuss my results. Yeah, I'm sure I'm about to throw another pile of money his way to explain that I'm normal… I saw my grandfather (mom's side) last week. He sleeps all the time anymore, which worries me a bit. He sleeps during the day, but is awake all night. It's a bit stressful for my grandmother, I know that much for certain. I worry about him all the time, and more so for my grandmother. She does a wonderful job of taking care of him, but I know it has to be harder on her than it is on any one else in the family. Ah yes, how could I forget to mention the project I'm working on. To start off with, the Air Force has given us a deadline of November 15****th****, which is like a week or two short of what we projected it would take for us to finish our project. So, we got another person added to the team and think we'll be fine now. We have less than 7 weeks to finish, and whether we'll get done or not is up in the air. I think we'll be done by the 15****th**** of November, but it'll be close. We'll see I suppose. Anyways, not much else is new. **

**Writing wise, things are progressing nicely, though with my project going on, progress may slow down a bit. Can't write and program at the same time, hehe. My best estimation is there are 4-6 chapters left. Right now I'm thinking 5, but it maybe 6. Just letting you all know how much longer this story will last. Ah yes, plus I may begin work on a few one-shots that have been plaguing my mind for the last month or two. There is one for Bleach, another for Inuyasha, and a few ideas on Yugioh GX ones. We'll see, I suppose.**

**Moving along, it's once more time for reviews!**

**Kattana: Yep, Iya has a son. Kind of a shocker I suppose, hehe. Yeah, the white hair, muddy brown eyes, and personality were kind of hints. But yes, he has hair much like his uncles and grandfather, but has Iya's eyes. True, one would have to wonder how Lilly will take the news that he has a son. And a more important question you asked is will he be able to kill his own blood. Hmm, that one is hard to determine. Well, not really for me since I know what happens, lol. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: Not too bad. Yeah, I took a glance at your blog, but I've yet to really find much time to look again. You know me, busy till no end, lol. I need a vacation to catch up with everything, but I don't see that happening, like ever, lol. Cool about Kumoricon. There was one in Pittsburg recently that a coworker of mine went to (his family lives there and he happened to go home to find it there). Heh, he bought a wooden Keyblade (from Kingdom Hearts, if you didn't know) while there. Anyways, yes, Yukio is Iya's son, which does make things a bit awkward, hehe. Yep, he's definitely not a saint, lol, but he does have things in the past that plague him. True, the fight does seem to be getting more complicated, especially on Iya's part now that he knows he is fighting his son. Yeah, hopefully he can last till his hanyou form returns. Heh, thanks. Iya is really kind of complex in a lot of ways. He's had a good life, but a rough one at the same time. Thanks about letting me know about Kumoricon. I checked on the forums, but again, I just glanced. I'll let my wife know about the good luck. She could use it, hehe. Thanks for the review!**

**And that would be it for the reviews. Thanks to both of you for them. I know I say that weekly, but in all honesty, it's the reviews from fans that really help me gauge how well I'm doing. I've heard some people say judge it by the number of favorites you get, but that does nothing for me. I would rather have input from people. Otherwise, I might as well ask a computer how well I did. That's what a favorite says to me, kind of. It does say "I like this", but at the same time, it says nothing about what they like. Eh, maybe that's just me, but I'd rather hear what people think than look at number of hits and favs. Anyways, enough of my philosophical thoughts.**

**At any rate, I hope everyone likes this upcoming chapter. Things will heat up, that's for sure. Thanks to everyone once more, and enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

Finding his mouth dry, Iya tried to process the words of the hanyou across from him. In a faint but soft tone, he asked "What did you say?"

"You are my sire, Iya Taisho." Yukio repeated with coldness in his voice. "Those words leave an awful taste in my mouth, but they are the truth."

"_He is my son!? But how, when!? Kaia and I were together for only that one night! I couldn't have…_"

Remaining emotionless, the hanyou spoke up again, waking the human from his thoughts. "I'm sure you have many questions, so allow me to fill in a few of the blanks for you. You're probably wondering how I am a hanyou, so I will answer that one first."

"When you raped my mother, you were in your full demon state at the time. Due to that, I was born a hanyou instead of a quarter demon, which was perhaps better for me in the end."

Staring into the eyes of the hanyou, Iya swallowed the lump in his throat, whispering "You are my son…"

"Don't show any sentiment to me, you worthless bastard!" Yukio snarled. "I want nothing from you! There is but one thing that you have that I want and that is your pathetic life! Your death is all that I desire to have."

Clenching his hands tightly around the hilts of his swords, the hanyou cast his eyes onto the ground for a moment before returning his gaze into the brown eyes of the black haired human. Revealing a slight bit of sadness within his muddy brown eyes, he quietly said "She never could love me like she wanted to due that I hold your cursed blood in my body."

"Because of what you did to her, she never could look me in the eye for very long. The raw pain would resurface after a few moments time. Once that happened, she refused to be near me."

In a loud snarl, the hanyou cried out "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR YOUR MOTHER TO BE AFRAID OF YOU, TO FEAR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE!? DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE KIND OF PAIN THAT NOT ONLY SHE SUFFERED THROUGH, BUT I TOO!?"

Silence filled the air for a moment before the hanyou continued in a cold tone, saying "I doubt you do. You, a bastard child of the Lord of the West, would never know true suffering. I know what it is to suffer. I daily suffered because of what you did to my mother. I could never truly reach her because of you. She was afraid of me because of the blood that flowed in my veins, and because I had your eyes."

"It's because of you she suffered and I never got a proper childhood. You robbed me of it because you wanted to fulfill your desires. It's because of those two reasons that I can never forgive you for what you have done."

Drawing himself back into a long left forward stance, he added "The only way you can atone for your crimes is with your life. I'll avenge my mother and sate my anger by destroying you."

Looking into the eyes of his son, Iya saw nothing but anger and vengeance within them. Not finding a bit of any other emotions, he could not help but suppress a sad sigh. "_He has been carrying around so much pain and sadness all these years. It's no wonder he hates me. Because of that one night, his life was never given a chance._"

"Lord Iya?"

Dragged out of his thoughts by the voice of the small flea that was hanging off of his earlobe, the black haired hanyou lowly whispered "Myouga, I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it you need me to do, Lord Iya?"

"When I attack him, I need you to sample his blood. Find out if he is for sure my son."

Taking in the words of the human, the flea tentatively asked "And if he is, Lord Iya, what do you intend to do?"

Staring at the hanyou for a moment in silence, Iya quietly whispered in reply "I honestly don't know what I will do, Myouga… Get ready."

Tightening his grip on the hilt of Ketsaiga, the black haired human raced forward at top speed that his body could produce. Pushing himself harder than he knew he should, Iya soon arrived before his opponent. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he watched as his blade was parried by one of the hanyou's, sending out a shower of sparks into the nighttime air.

Drawing back his mighty halberd, he struck out again, this time overhead, only to have his sword caught between the two small swords of the hanyou. Grinding against it, the human pushed all of his weight and strength into his sword, hoping to push through the defense, only to feel the hanyou beginning to push back.

Taking his opportunity, Myouga leapt onto the neck of the white haired hanyou and quickly dug into the neck of the hanyou. Quickly working while keeping an eye on the battle, the flea took a slurp of the crimson liquid that oozed out. Hearing the sounds of the grinding swords starting to fade, he quickly made his escape and leapt back onto the safety of the head of his master.

Feeling the flea back on his head, the black haired human quickly retreated to a safe distance and kept his eyes focused on the hanyou. The blade in his hands instantly reverted from it's halberd form back to it's smaller shape. In a quiet whisper, Iya asked "Well Myouga, is he my son?"

Sitting in silence for a moment, the flea hesitated, but slowly replied "He is indeed your son, Lord Iya. There is no mistaking it since his blood is definitely similar to yours."

"I see…"

Remaining silent for a minute, Iya finally spoke up once again, saying "Myouga, I want you to find Inuyasha and relay this information to him. Also send it to Sesshomaru. Let them know that it is my request that neither kill Yukio."

"But Lord Iya…" Myouga began protesting, only to be cut off by the black haired human.

"No buts, Myouga. I won't have my only son killed."

"But what of yourself?" the flea questioned. "You can't defeat him in your human form, and sunrise is still some time away."

Closing his eyes for a moment and slowly reopening them, the black haired human whispered "I know that. There is still almost thirty minutes till sunrise. Even if I evade him, I'll never make it to sunrise in a fight like this. Still, I refuse to let him kill me. My life is linked to Lilly's, so I must find a way to live."

"Even though that is the case, I want you to go and tell the others this information. Tell them just that he is my son. Should I die, you may tell the whole tale, but till then, tell them only that he is my son and I don't wish him killed. Do you understand?"

Hesitating, the flea began to argue, only to be cut off by the human. "I'm sure of this Myouga. I want you to do as I say. That's an order, from one of the heirs of the Western Lands."

Looking down at the ground for a moment, the flea slowly nodded his head, saying "Very well, Lord Iya. I shall do as you ask."

With his words said, the flea quickly fled from the battlefield, leaving only the hanyou and human behind to stare one another down.

Drawing up both blades before his body, the hanyou hooked the two together by their hilts and pulled apart, allowing the chain within them to come rolling out. Releasing his hold on the right hand blade, he reached out and took hold of the chain and began swinging the blade around by the tight hold of the chain.

Bringing Ketsaiga before himself, Iya tightened his grip on the halberd. Looking into the angry eyes of the hanyou, he calmly asked "Do you truly intend to cut down your own father?"

"YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN FILTH TO ME!" Yukio snarled. Without warning, he threw the spinning blade at the human.

Watching the incoming blade, the human called forth the transformation of the sword in his hands, returning it to it's larger halberd form. Expertly, he used the broad side of his blade to knock away the incoming sword, which was quickly drawn back to the hanyou. Immediately, he began spinning the sword once more by the chain while eyeing the human.

Trying to hold a grimace of pain, the human reversed form of his sword without warning into it's smaller form once more. Noting this, the hanyou stopped swinging his sword and took hold of the hilt of the flying blade.

"So, using your sword is finally taking it's toll on you." the hanyou announced. "I had wondered how you were able to, but I think I finally understand. If I had to guess, you trained for years to learn to handle that sword while human. Even though you've learned how to, the blade is still a demon's blade, thus it is harmful to your human form. The very aura of your own sword is harmful to you as a human. That explains the burns on your hands."

Keeping his eyes locked on his opponent, Iya quietly replied "Ketsaiga never was meant to be wielded by me as a human. My father, your grandfather, explained that to me when I was still young."

"I am not a part of your family, Iya Taisho." Yukio coldly retorted. "You are nothing to me, other than the person that I must kill to avenge my fallen mother."

"Yukio…" Iya softly began. "I know that you are angry with me, and I don't blame you for that at all."

Looking downwards at the ground, he continued on, saying "I've done terrible things in my life, things that I can never forget or forgive myself for doing. Believe me when I say there are things I wish I could undo, but I cannot."

Bringing his head back up to look the hanyou in the eye, the human calmly said "I wish I could have corrected the mistake I made to your mother. For years on end, I have been haunted by the memories of that night and of what I did to her then…"

"Just shut up!" the white haired hanyou screamed with anger flaring in his eyes. "You have no right to speak of her!"

Putting the two blades together into the large halberd form, the hanyou brandished the sword towards the human, saying "You know nothing of the pain she suffered through! Because of you, she was always miserable and in pain! Nobody could ever make her feel better, not me or Lord Byakuya! It's your fault she was that way, yet you stand here making weak excuses saying you suffered too! Don't make me laugh! You know nothing of true suffering!"

"_It looks like I can't get through to him. That means I only have to make a decision on what to do now. I could just run from him and try to evade him for the next thirty minutes till dawn, but I know for certain I could never escape him, nor evade him for that length of time._"

Hardening his eyes on the hanyou glaring at him, Iya ground out in his mind "_The second option would be to kill him. That option is just not viable on several fronts. Besides the fact he is my only son, I don't think I have enough strength left in my human form to kill him._"

"_And then there is my final option. I need to knock him out long enough for dawn to come and allow me to regain my demonic powers. That seems reasonable since I have one last Wind Slash left in me before I can no longer use Ketsaiga. The only problem is this is an all or nothing attack. If I fail, I'll be at his mercy._"

Gripping the hilt of Ketsaiga and focusing completely on the white haired young man across from him, Iya mentally growled "_I can't fail! No matter what, I must live and return to Lilly! I promised her I would return to her, so no matter what it takes, I will survive._"

Shifting his weight onto his left foot, the human raced straight towards the hanyou with a burst of speed that he never knew he had as a human. Paying no heed, he struck out at the hanyou, only to have their halberds clash together.

Staring into the eyes of the black haired human, Yukio calmly commented "You have the look of a man determined to kill. I wonder though, will you kill your own flesh and blood? Can you kill your own son and prove to be as cold as my mother thought you were?"

Grinding his blade against the hanyou's, the human ignored the words of his opponent and dug into the ground and pushed with all of his might, catching the hanyou off guard and forcing him to begin to slide backwards. Gritting his teeth, the black haired human threw all of his strength into his blade, sending the hanyou flying backwards.

Drawing the sword up above his head, Iya screamed loudly while swinging downwards "WIND SLASH!"

Erupting from the edge of the blade was a white blast of demonic energy that slammed heavily into the shocked white haired hanyou. Raising his blade up quickly as he could, the hanyou managed to block most of the blast with his sword, but a great deal of it still slammed into him, sending him skidding backwards while the ground beneath him was torn up. At last, the blast came to rest, exploding and causing the hanyou to scream out in pain.

Dropping the large halberd from his hands to the ground, Iya grit his teeth to keep from yelling out in pain. His hands were smoldering and seemingly badly burned, with the scent of charred flesh filling the air around him. Pushing the pain back in his mind, he raced towards the cloud of dust and smoke where the hanyou had come to rest. Rushing headlong into the cloud, he soon found the panting form of his son near the center of it with his sword still defensively protecting himself.

Drawing back his right fist, the black haired human attempted to deliver a heavy blow into the right cheek of the hanyou, only to miss as the hanyou dodged the attack and leapt backwards out of the cloud of dust. Falling to one knee and panting heavily, the human watched the dust vanish, revealing the hanyou. His body had minor cuts on it with some blood seeping from the small wounds, but nothing life threatening. Part of his clothing was ragged and torn, but for the most part, he was unharmed.

"I should have known you would try something like that." Yukio coolly commented. Lowering his sword slightly, he added "From the way you look, I gather that you are at your limit."

Taking in the looks of the heavily panting human, he continued on, saying "Using that sword of yours while human takes a lot out of you. After all, demonic weapons were never meant to be handled by humans. Your hands tell me that much since they are charred."

"It seems you are now at my complete mercy. I will admit, that last attack was daring and may have succeeded if I hadn't guessed what your strategy was at the last moment. You had planned to knock me out and hoped to buy yourself some time till dawn came. A good plan, but it was poorly executed on your part."

Panting heavily still, Iya growled lowly at the words of the hanyou, but did not reply. Noting this, the white haired hanyou slowly began walking towards the kneeling human.

"You were interesting to fight. I wish to have fought you when you were in your hanyou form, but I have no intentions on allowing you to live till then. You have lived for far too long already and require your sentence to be carried out."

Circling the kneeling human slowly, he added "I will make your death swift as possible. That much I could give you I suppose. My mother would have loved to have seen you tortured for hours on end, and I can't say that I don't disagree with her. You tortured her in such a manner, so it would only be fitting for you to leave this world in such a manner, but alas, time does not allow for that."

Moving back before the human, the hanyou stared down at his opponent, asking "Do you have any final words to say before I send you on to Hell?"

Slowing his breathing a bit, Iya looked up into the muddy brown eyes of the hanyou for a moment before sadly smiling. Tears slowly trickled down his cheeks as he softly mumbled "I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, my son. I never knew that your mother was pregnant back all those years ago. If I had known she was, I'd have taken responsibility and mated with her. Even if she wouldn't have agreed to that, I'd have done whatever it took to help raise you. For what I have done to you, I can never be forgiven."

"Still, I cannot accept what you have decided become. We all have a choice in what we do with our lives, Yukio. Living for vengeance alone is not a way to live. Eventually, it will consume you and leave you with nothing but an emptiness that can never be filled. Your mother, Kaia, she knew that after all these years. She was filled with anger and hatred and wanted nothing more than vengeance on me for my actions nearly three hundred years ago."

"I don't deny it, what I did was atrocious and can never be forgiven. To this day, I still feel as if her blood is on my hands, and no matter what, I can never remove it, but that is my burden to bear for what I did. I do so in hopes that something like that never happens again."

Pausing for a moment, he slowly added "You may not believe me, but I do care about you. What father could not love their son, I don't know, but I know even though you wish to kill me, I still hold you with love in my heart. I may not know you at all, but I still care. If you must kill me to sate the anger and hatred that was built up between us, then so be it. Just know, no matter what, I care about you. I know also that your mother loved you just as much, if not more so. I don't ask you to forget or forgive me for what I did to your mother and you, but ask that you try to let go of that hatred."

Digesting the words of the human for a moment, Yukio drew his blade over his head and coldly said "You are truly a fool to the bitter end. I will never acknowledge you as my father after what you did to my mother. Go into the afterlife and know what a failure you were."

Swinging downwards at the head of the human, the hanyou watched in shock as his blade stopped just inches above the head of the human. Frowning, he noted that his blade was being held back but a thin cloud of ash that was acting like a shield.

"Step away from my mate!"

Looking behind the black haired human, Yukio spotted the young woman he had seen take off to face off with Kenji. She had a bloody slash on her upper chest and one on her right shoulder, but other than that, he determined she was unharmed for the most part.

Leaping backwards while the young woman rushed to the side of the fallen human, the hanyou let out a ragged sigh. "A shame, it seems Kenji wasn't quite capable of killing you. I take it you finished him."

Ignoring the hanyou for a moment, Lilly reached her mate and quickly bent down before him, asking "Iya, are you alright?"

Noting his burned hands, she whispered "You overdid it, didn't you?"

"Just a bit…" he miserably commented.

Reaching out and helping her mate stand, the young woman turned her attention back to the white haired hanyou. Noting he was for the most part unscathed, she frowned.

"Lilly, I don't want you to fight him."

Turning back to her mate, she ground out "Why not!? He nearly killed you! If I hadn't arrived when I did, you'd be dead."

"I know, but…"

Letting out a ragged breath, Iya quietly mumbled "He is my son."

Eyes widening, Lilly asked with surprise in her voice "Your son? But how is that possible? I know for a fact you told me you've never mated with anyone before me, so did you…"

"I didn't lie." Iya interrupted. In a sad tone, he whispered "Yukio is mine and Kaia's son…"

A small gasp of surprise escaped the lips of the young woman before her eyes fell to the ground with sadness in them. Noting this, the young man quietly said "I didn't know either. From what I gather from him, that one night produced him. Since I was in my full demon form that night when we were together, he became a hanyou."

"Are you sure he is your son and this isn't a ploy to trick you?"

Shaking his head in a no motion, Iya replied "I'm sure he is. Myouga already confirmed the truth for me. He was certain that Yukio is most definitely my son. Our blood is similar."

Taking in the information that her mate had just given her, Lilly softly asked "What do you want to do then? He is obviously not going to stop till he kills you."

Remaining silent for a long moment, the black haired young man slowly replied "We have to wait for dawn before I can do anything… Once I'm a hanyou again, I feel fairly certain I can deal with him, but I have no chance right now. I'm already at my limit with Ketsaiga."

"Speaking of which, where is it?"

"I had to drop it when I made a last ditch effort to knock him out." Iya commented. "I'll grab it here in a moment."

Glancing over his mate's body, he noted the injuries to her and said "You're injured…"

"It's not that bad." Lilly cut in. "Most of the wounds are superficial."

Returning her attention to the hanyou across from them, she noted he seemed to be waiting on the two of them. Gently, she said "Kenji is alive. I didn't kill him."

Remaining emotionless, Yukio remarked "I'm amazed a human managed to beat him. I take it is due to that ash that surrounds you."

"Haineko was the main reason I won, yes. Don't worry, he's only knocked out. I did cut him up somewhat, but he'll recover in time. I doubt he'll be fighting for a few days or more."

Pursing her lips for a moment, she added "I suggest you go and tend to him. This battle doesn't need to progress any further. Let's stop before someone is killed or seriously hurt."

Keeping his emotionless mask on, the hanyou sharply replied "That maybe something you are willing to do, Lilly Taisho, but I will not. Not until the judgment of The Thirteen is carried out."

"All but one of them is dead." Lilly countered with a touch of irritation in her voice. "The Thirteen is no more. You have no reason to follow what they said any longer, so why bother?"

Pausing for a long moment, she slowly added with softness in her voice "Besides that, Iya is your father."

"He is nothing to me." Yukio deadpanned back. "Iya Taisho is nothing more than a criminal that requires his sentence to be carried out."

"How can you say that about your own father!?" Lilly demanded with anger flashing in her eyes.

Boring into her light blue eyes with his own muddy brown ones, the hanyou replied "Because of what he did to my mother. He deserves no sympathy, only death."

Lowering her head and clenching her free left hand tightly into a fist, the young woman softly said "You have no right to say such things."

Looking up with shimmering eyes, she cried out "He has suffered just as much as your mother and you! Because of that one night, he went through his entire life feeling guilty over it. He had no control of his body, yet your mother never cared! All Kaia wanted was to kill Iya and blame him for his mistake."

"He did make a mistake, and he knows that, but at the same time, neither you nor your mother had the right to not let him move on to try and correct that mistake! Both of you have done nothing but blame him! You never tried to understand him or his reason, you both just allowed hatred to fill your hearts and blame him for what happened. Iya couldn't help it that his demon heat came that night! He didn't know what it was at the time, nor was he prepared for it! You can't blame him for something he knew nothing about and had no control over."

Feeling a hand on her right shoulder, the young woman glanced over to see her mate standing there. In a quiet voice, he softly said "It's alright Lilly… I deserve the hatred he feels for me. It's because of me he never could be truly close to Kaia."

"But Iya…"

"But that still doesn't mean what he intends to do right." Iya commented, effectively stopping his mate. Turning his full attention to the hanyou, he calmly said "Yukio, I don't want to kill you, but if you continue this fight, I can't guarantee you won't be killed in the end."

Scoffing at the words of the young man, the dog hanyou coolly remarked "Neither of you has the strength to kill me, nor the heart. Don't make me laugh if either of you are entertaining the idea of defeating me. I cannot be stopped by two weakling humans."

Before either could reply, the hanyou suddenly went racing towards the pair, putting both at high alert. Drawing the sheath out of his obi as a defensive weapon, the black haired young man could not help but suppress a gasp of shock when the hanyou took aim at his mate instead. Instinctively, he leapt in front of her with his sheath held out by both hands, stopping the halberd of the hanyou from striking her.

Grinding his blade against the sheath, Yukio coolly remarked "That sheath of yours has a barrier from what I heard, but how long will it last against my blade I wonder?"

Growling in response, Iya glanced over his shoulder at the fallen blade laying on the ground some distance away. It had reversed it's form immediately when he had dropped it and was now a normal looking sword.

Grasping the sheath tightly, the young man called out "Ketsaiga!"

Releasing a pulse, the sheath seemingly called out to the blade that was laying limply on the ground. In response, the blade released a similar pulse and soon lifted up off of the ground. Hovering in mid-air, the blade suddenly rushed towards it's master. Seeing the sword nearly to him, the black haired human reached out with his right hand and expertly caught the blade by the hilt. Using it to replace the sheath, he held the halberd of the hanyou back with his blade while allowing the sheath to fall harmlessly to the ground.

Letting out a low growl, Iya snarled out "Stop this Yukio! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Don't worry, I shall remain unharmed. You on the other hand will not." Yukio icily countered.

Without warning, the hanyou leapt backwards just as an ash cloud began swarming around the area he had once stood. The ash soon receded back around the young woman and began encircling her.

Picking up his dropped sheath and placing it into his obi, Iya couldn't help but grimace from the pain his hands. Noting this, Lilly moved before him, saying "I'll fight him, Iya. You need to rest up for a while."

"But Lilly…"

"Don't but me." the young woman countered with her back to her mate. "You're already torn up enough as is, and if we're going to stop him, I need you ready when dawn breaks."

Smiling slightly while looking back at him over her shoulder, she added "Besides, I can take care of myself. After all, I have Haineko, and he can easily help me hold out till dawn."

Returning her attention to the hanyou some thirteen feet away, Lilly slowly padded towards him while the ash cloud continued to encircle her. Coming to rest with seven feet of distance, she peered into his muddy brown eyes, finding anger and hatred swimming within them.

"Yukio, please, I know you are angry with your father for what happened to your mother, but don't let it consume you like it did her."

"He is nothing to me. You are as foolish as he is for attempting to change my mind." Yukio emotionlessly stated.

Sighing slightly, she quietly replied "I don't want you to die like your mother did."

Looking straight into his eyes, she softly added "I was the one who fought your mother last and killed her. So please, don't blame Iya. I made him leave so I could fight her. Believe me when I say I tried to reason with her and tried to get her to stop her hatred for him, but she didn't care, much like how you don't."

"Yukio, it's not too late to stop. Do so before more blood is spilled. You already have lost your mother, don't lose your father also." Lilly pleaded.

Not changing his facial expression, the hanyou coolly replied "Your words are nothing to me."

With that said, he suddenly charged towards the young woman. Calling forth her ash cloud before herself, she managed to block an incoming swing, allowing the ash to take the full blow. Throwing her right arm forward and pointing at the hanyou with the remains of her sword, she watched as the ash surrounding her suddenly began moving towards it's target.

Backing away, the hanyou eyed the young woman momentarily before suddenly charging at her once more. Again, the ash came to the defense of the young woman, protectively stopping the blade of the hanyou several inches away from her face. Like before, the young woman quickly attempted to launch the ash as a counter attack, but before she could, the hanyou had vanished from before her, only to reappear several feet away with his halberd in one hand.

"So that's how it works." he casually commented. Seeing confusion in the face of the young woman, Yukio coolly remarked "Your sword, you can not only control it with your mind, but also with your hands. Using your hands seems to somewhat speed up the power of it."

Sighing slightly, he added "But there is a limit to what you can do while you are human. I can tell by the concentration reflecting in your eyes that it takes everything you have as you are to control it. I gather that when you are a hanyou, you can use it more freely, but using it as it is, the movements of it are hampered."

Remaining silent for a moment, the young woman allowed a small smile to grace her face as she calmly said "It's surprising how quickly you analyzed my sword after I've only used it against you only four times."

"I'm a quick study, woman." Yukio quipped. "Though your blade has great offensive and defensive capabilities, it has a weakness."

Readying his halberd before himself, the hanyou icily said "Allow me to show you the true power of Fenrir."

Without warning, a white demonic aura erupted around the hanyou and seemed to wrap itself around the halberd in his hands. Bolts of white lightning seemed to flare out from the aura, leaving the air in the area with an eerie feeling. Taking a hesitant step backwards, the young woman grit her teeth and forced herself to stop losing ground.

"Brave of you to try and stand your ground, but foolish." the white haired hanyou coolly declared.

Drawing his blade up over his head, he cried out "Denkou no Kizu!"

Flaring out from the large blade instantly was a claw like blast of light blue lightning. It went racing towards the young woman, who was seemingly in complete shock.

Forcing his body forward towards his mate with wide eyes, Iya yelled out "MOVE LILLY!

Hearing her mate, Lilly woke herself out of her shock. "Block it Haineko!"

Moving before her, the ash cloud formed into a forward shield before her while the young woman braced herself for the incoming attack. The blast of lightning slammed hard into the ash barrier, giving off the sound of electricity sizzling. Grunting heavily, the young woman quickly moved both hands before her body, seemingly trying to strengthen the barrier before her.

Sweat began pouring down the sides of the young woman's face as the brute force of the attack continued to assault her barrier. Feeling the ground underneath her beginning to crumble, Lilly dug deeper into her body, looking for any power to help. Drudging up reserves she didn't know she had as a human, she poured it all out into strengthening her barrier. The attack didn't let up one bit, but slowly, bit by bit, it began to fizzle out till finally it faded completely.

Falling to one knee and panting heavily, the young woman felt her mate run up beside her and kneel down next to her. Whatever words he said didn't register as she was concentrating primarily on calming her breathing. Her body was coated in sweat, with her kimono top soaking it in. Finding it hard to focus on the white haired hanyou, she closed one eye, allowing her vision to refine itself a bit.

Without warning, the ash cloud that had been encircling her slowly fell to the ground before glowing and rebuilding itself into the blade of her sword.

With concern and worry in his voice, Iya quickly asked "Did you hear me, Lilly!?"

Weakly, she replied "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. That took a lot out of me…"

"I asked if you were alright."

Still panting, she quietly rasped out "I don't think I can go on… It took everything I had just to block that attack with Kimi."

Nodding, the young man glanced at the hanyou, whose white aura had faded away. Calmly, he asked "That attack, you called it the Denkou no Kizu, correct?"

Receiving a curt nod in reply, Iya quietly responded with "It's an attack that my younger half brother knows as well, but with a different element. His attack is called the Kaze no Kizu, which loosely translates to the Wind Scar. Since you used lightning instead, I take it that is your element type."

"You would be correct, Iya Taisho." Yukio coolly commented. Looking at the panting young woman, he added "It is surprising you managed to block that attack in your current condition, Lilly Taisho. It is most impressive, but it seems you have reached your limit as well in that form, meaning this battle is over."

Moving defensively before his mate with Ketsaiga in it's untransformed state, Iya ground out "I will not allow you to harm her."

"This battle is over with, Iya Taisho. Accept your punishment. No matter how hard you try, your death, along with your mate's, is inevitable."

Glancing up at the eastern sky, the young man silently cursed to himself. "_Damn, still about twenty minutes left until dawn. There's no way I can hold him off that long, but I have to try. Lilly won't be able to fight any longer, so it's up to me to protect her with my life. I swore I would always, and I'm not about to back down now. Yukio maybe my son, but I will not allow him to kill my mate, no matter what._"

Sliding his left foot forward a few inches, the hanyou instantly raced forward with his halberd drawn up to attack. With only four feet between them, a voice called out.

"Tilt the goblet to the west – Emerald Grail! Wolke!"

Without warning, a blast of light blue energy in the shape of lightning struck out at the spot where the hanyou was. Reacting quickly, the hanyou leapt backwards into the air just as the blast struck the spot he had once stood in.

Hearing the sound of calm footsteps approaching, all three participants of the battle turned to find the lone Quincy walking towards them with his right hand extended and small wisps of smoke pouring off of his hand. Using his hand to push his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, he casually said "Looks like I made it just in time to save you two."


	8. Chapter 8: A Quincy's Skill

**Hello to everyone once more. So, the past two weeks have been interesting. Yesterday, my dad and I finished with our second cutting of hay, at long last. We were technically already done, but he decided to finish cutting another field so we could test out creating lighter bales, which worked out rather well. In the end, we got hay that was much lighter than what we had previously taken up, so all in all, it was good. My poor grandfather (mom's side), he's been driving my grandmother somewhat crazy, asking her to take him up to where his old home was. He lived there when he was a kid, but since then, the house has come under his nephew's ownership, but he let it be. The house has probably fallen down or is in bad shape if it hasn't. Anyways, he's been asking to go there. He actually asked me too last weekend. I felt so bad that he really can't go there. To load him in the car wouldn't be easy, and even if we could load him, he could barely stand being out of bed for twenty minutes a few weeks ago, so I doubt he'd make the trip out there. My grandmother commented she was going to take a picture of the place for him and bring it to show him, so maybe that will satisfy him. Ah yes, I'm to go visit my mom in Richmond, VA, here in a week with my mate. It'll be nice to get out and visit her, plus we're to go to Washington, DC, that Saturday to see things there. My mate has yet to be there, which should be fun to see what she thinks of it. Oh yeah, our first sprint for our current project ended today. Meh, my stuff was reworked by a coworker since we had different ideas on what the page I was working on was to look like. Other than that, for the most part, it went over well. We may yet get done by the 15****th**** of November. Hmm, not too much else is going on in my life. I am kind of growing more and more agitated with entertainment news, but that's just me I suppose. Kind of sick and tired about hearing things about Michael Jackson, Jon and Kate (including all 8, lol), Letterman, and the other people who are seemingly blocking out real news in the world. Jackson is dead, so get over it. Jon and Kate, who gives a crap about either. Both should serve a prison sentence together for even making news, lol. As for Letterman, that was just horrible handling on his part to make those scandals more apparent. Just totally idiotic to do something like what he did, which was announce it. But what can you do, other than just turn off your TV, which I already have, lol.**

**Moving along, writing wise, things are moving along smoothly. I'm thinking this story should be done posting before the end of the year, possibly. I think they will be 13 chapters altogether, from the looks of things thus far. That means 5 more chapters after this one for everyone to read. Good times, right? (/Hears crickets.\) Anyways, that's just an update for those who were curious.**

**And now, time once more for reviews!**

**Espada Zero: Good to see you back once more. Heh, true, things have turned into quite a soap opera in this story. I don't think anyone really expected Yukio to be Iya's son. I tried not to give it away, but when explaining how he looked, I was like "They'll figure this out without blinking." Shockingly, his looks did nothing for his identity, so go me, lol. Thanks about Sanosuke. Glad you got to read some Kenshin. Eh, I know Kenshin didn't seem like he was capable of being bad, but I twisted him around to become one. That's like a certain someone thought the Elrics couldn't be evil. She doesn't know them like I do, hehe. Heh, yeah, Ichigo is out there, somewhere. Where, well, that's a secret, lol. Thanks for the review!**

**kattana: Yeah, Lilly seemed to somewhat understand the situation better than most thought she would. Doubtful that Yukio understands what a demon heat is, but you never know. After all, he was Byakuya's adopted son, so maybe he learned about it. True, he might understand Iya a bit better if he had a better understanding of demon heats and their affects. Heh, yeah, Yukio seems hell bent on not giving Iya a chance to explain himself, and like you said, that's another attribute of that family line, hehe. Hopefully he'll listen to reason, but with the way he is, who knows. Well, other than me, naturally, lol. It would be nice to see Iya teaching Yukio how to use his sword while in human form, though I'm unsure if he could or not. As for changing into his true dog form, eh, don't know if he could actually do it. Remember, Lilly had a very lose grip on doing it herself. She needed Kimi's help to change once she was free from Kenshin. But yeah, there is so much Yukio could learn from Iya if he doesn't kill him, lol. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: Thanks about the fighting comment. Yeah, Iya fought against Yukio first, only to fail at stopping him, prompting his mate to take up the fight. Only problem is, she too has failed to end it. We'll see how a certain Quincy fairs against this problematic hanyou, hehe. Yep, a certain little flea is the one who confirmed the true identity of Iya's son. So true about Iya having no control over his situation from the past. His demon blood was just too strong for him to control and he naturally was overcome by his inner demon. It's not like he wanted to rape Kaia. But alas, yes, Iya continues to carry this burden with him, even though he had no control over the situation. True about Yukio letting hate control his life and lead him to this point and time. Heh, yeah, the certain Quincy has just shown up, making things much more interesting once again. Yeah, Uryu has his work cut out for him, that much is certain, but who knows, he may surprise everyone in this fight. Eh, they're not really bounty hunters. They're the children of The Thirteen, the ones that Byakuya stole to create his own personal army. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should definitely read through **_**Another**_** for answers. It has all of them, hehe. Actually, Byakuya hasn't been dead for too long. Only 6 or so months, at most. I'll try and take a look at your blog when I get a chance, along with your forum. It's all a matter of making time, lol. Cool about the uncle in the Air Force. Thanks for the review!**

**Thank you, all three of you, for your continuous reviews. I really appreciate them. Any kind of feedback is strongly appreciated. It helps in continuing to develop my writing style. I know it's far from perfect, so I'm always appreciative to those who let me know what I need to work on and what seems to be working.**

**At any rate, I'm done for this round. I hope all of you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8**

Not allowing any emotion to grace his face, Yukio coolly said "I see you still live, priest. It's a shame that Sanosuke failed to kill you."

"I'm sure it is, for you and your comrades." Uryū smoothly replied. "I wouldn't worry too much about your compatriot though. He'll be able to tell you all about his loss once you recover him."

Raising an eyebrow, the hanyou asked "He still lives?"

Nodding, the young man with glasses reached out and pushed them back up on his nose with his right hand, allowing the fading moonlight to gleam off of them. "He is badly wounded, but still alive. Unlike you demons, I take no pleasure in killing. I prefer to leave my enemies alive and simply incapacitated."

"Interesting ideals, human."

"Perhaps, to a demon who cannot comprehend compassion." the Quincy countered.

Vanishing in a flash, the Quincy soon reappeared before the pair of humans with his back facing them. Glancing over his right shoulder, he calmly asked "I take it you two have reached your limits?"

"I can still fight, but I'm unable to use my sword again till dawn." Iya remarked. Stealing a glance from his mate, he added "Lilly needs to rest for now. She used up all of her strength to block an attack he released not long ago."

"I see…" Uryū murmured. Refocusing his attention on the hanyou not far from him, he calmly said "I'll fight him alone then."

About to protest, the black haired human was cut off by the Quincy. "You're worn out just as much as your mate. You would only get in my way. Let me handle him."

"You're in not much better shape though." Lilly commented while weakly standing up. On her feet once more, she wobbled slightly, but was quickly steadied out by her mate. "I can see that your left arm is hurt. You need to rest and recover as well."

Silence filled the air for a moment before the Quincy coolly replied "I'm not as bad hurt as you think I am. I can still fight. Of the three of us, I am most capable of defending us."

"Once dawn breaks, we should be able to help stop him." Iya stated. Pausing for a moment, he quietly added "Don't kill him, Uryū."

"I cannot guarantee that. I prefer not to kill my opponents, but if it comes down to his life or someone else's, I will not hesitate to finish him."

Remaining silent for a moment, the black haired human looked down at the ground and softly said "I still don't want you to kill him."

Glancing over his shoulder at the human looking down, the Quincy asked "Why should I not kill him if necessary?"

"Because…" Iya began hesitantly, "he's my son."

Digesting the words spoken to him, the Quincy turned his attention back towards the hanyou who was simply waiting. Throwing a small glance over his shoulder, he quietly said "I will do what I can, but I guarantee nothing."

With his words said, the Quincy vanished into thin air, only to reappear five feet away with a bland expression on his face. Reaching up and pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, he calmly spoke up, saying "I suggest you leave my village before I am forced to take action against your person. Even though you wish to kill those two, they are under my protection."

Eyeing the left shoulder of the Quincy, Yukio smoothly remarked "It is foolish of you to fight me after taking a direct hit from Sanosuke's Futae no Kiwami."

"That attack, it shatters bones, so I imagine you are in quite a bit of pain. How you managed to defeat him after receiving it, I'm not sure, nor do I care. One thing is for certain. If you choose to fight me with only one arm, you will die."

Scoffing at the words of the hanyou, Uryū slowly lifted his left arm and used his hand to push his glasses up on his nose, earning him a slight gasp of surprise from his opponent. "I think I'll be fine, don't you?"

"Your shoulder, I'm most certain from the looks of it…" Yukio began but came to a stop. "His attack, it should have destroyed your shoulder. How is it possible for you to move it?"

"It's true, he did destroy the bone in my shoulder." Uryū confirmed. "But none of you counted on fighting a Quincy. We have many unique techniques in our repertoire, and one just so happens to be able to allow us to fight using broken arms. Even if he had broken both my arms and legs, Ransōtengai would remedy that and allow me to continue the fight."

Absorbing the words of the Quincy, the hanyou remained silent for a moment before calmly saying "You will be an interesting opponent."

"I would prefer not to fight you, if it's all the same." the Quincy countered. "Leave and I will not pursue you or your allies. Refuse and I'll have no choice but to force you to leave, and if that does not work, I will do what is necessary to protect this village."

"You have no obligation to those two. Why bother to protect them?"

Raising his right arm up before himself and stepping back with his left foot, the Quincy called forth his powers, causing a light blue glow to erupt around his right wrist. Forming on his right hand immediately was his white and black bow. Raising his left arm up and drawing back on the bow to form a light blue energy arrow, the Quincy stared straight into the eyes of the hanyou.

"You wouldn't understand what it means to protect the people that count on you. This village depends on me for it's protection, and though those two are strangers to me, they are a part of this village also. It is a Quincy's duty to protect those that he swore an oath to defend. No matter what, I will protect them along with this village, even if I must lay down my life for it."

Bringing his halberd up before his body, the hanyou took a deep breath, saying "Such foolishness. Your death is on your own head."

"We shall see." the Quincy quipped before vanishing into thin air.

Eyes snapping skyward, the hanyou barely had time to react as the Quincy launched five arrows down at him from twenty feet up in the air. Dodging, he took flight after the human, only to have him vanish once more. He reappeared soon enough with a distance of thirty feet between the two of them.

Taking aim again, Uryū released his arrow, only to rapidly fire off four more shots. Each of the shots missed the hanyou. Finished dodging the arrows, the hanyou suddenly vanished, much like how the Quincy had previously. Scanning the battlefield for his opponent, the Quincy's eyes widened just as he picked up on the aura of the hanyou.

Gasping softly, Iya turned to find his son above the two of them and nearly on top of his mate and himself with his blade raised above his head and lightning flaring off of it. Watching with shock in his eyes, he heard the hanyou shout out "DIE! DENKOU NO KIZU!"

Slamming his sword downwards, the hanyou unleashed a powerful burst of lightning energy in the shape of a claw at the pair of humans. Moving before his mate with his sheath containing his sword out of his obi, he pushed it before the pair to defend both of them.

Dismissing his bow and arrow quickly and turning his right hand towards the pair being attacked, Uryū cried out "A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed – Quintuple Restraining Flames! Gritz!"

A blast of silver energy immediately left his extended hand and went racing towards the pair and encircled them just as the blast of lightning hit the place where the pair stood. An explosion erupted a moment later, covering the area in a thick cloud of dust, smoke, and debris. The sound of electricity sizzling continued to fill the air before it slowly dissipated.

Soon enough, the dust and smoke cleared out, revealing what looked like a large pentagon shaped gray stone with a single star like pattern engrained into it. Smoke poured off of the structure for a moment longer before the gray stone vanished, revealing both humans that were within it were unharmed, each seemingly surprised.

Without warning, the Quincy appeared behind the surprised hanyou, who could barely raise his sword up to block the light blue energy blade of the Quincy. Grunting from the pressure of the human, the hanyou attempted to compensate.

"Forget them! I'm your opponent!" Uryū fiercely declared.

Growling lightly, Yukio spat back "Very well!"

The pair instantly vanished into thin air, only to reappear randomly across the nighttime sky with the blades locked together. Again and again, they struck out at one another, only to separate from time to time and simply strike out at each other again. Neither gave an inch, both seemingly determined to win the fight in a single blow.

Hitting the ground at last, the Quincy was panting lightly with sweat sliding down the sides of his face. Eyes widening, he looked up to find the hanyou quickly descending from the sky towards him with his blade pointing straight at him. Parrying the attack, the Quincy's knees began to give out from the tremendous force. Not stopping, the hanyou pressed harder, causing the ground under the Quincy to give way, sending dust and debris flying into the air.

Vanishing once more, the pair soon locked into combat in mid-air again, trading blows against one another's blades, but neither seemingly gaining any kind of an advantage. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only five minutes, the pair reappeared on the ground with a distance of fourteen feet between them. Both were panting, with the hanyou only lightly while the Quincy was heavily panting and sweat pouring down his body.

Calming his breathing quickly, the hanyou coolly said "I see that you are no ordinary human. It seems almost impossible that you're capable of keeping up with me, but it is impressive to say the least. I take it the reason you can is due to a technique you use?"

"Yes, Quincy have numerous techniques to give us the advantage against demons." Uryū rasped out. "We are not helpless against your kind."

"Yet it does wear down your body much quicker." Yukio pointedly remarked. "Before, when you stopped my attack on those two, you used a spell, correct?"

Slowing his breathing still, the Quincy calmly replied "Quincy are quite adept at creating and casting spells. For example, the one I used to shield Iya and Lilly was known as Gritz. It creates a shield around the target that cannot be broken."

"Cannot be broken, eh?" the hanyou mockingly questioned. "I think you mean so long as you have sufficient power, it cannot be broken. I can tell that blocking that attack took a good deal of energy out of you, not to mention our skirmish has weakened you as well. You will not last too much longer in this fight if you continue to fight at this level."

"Don't flatter yourself, demon." Uryū retorted. "I will not fall in this battle."

Disappearing from where he stood, the hanyou soon appeared with only four feet between himself and the Quincy, and his halberd ready to strike. In a calm tone, he said "Then prove it."

Striking out instinctively at the hanyou, the Quincy's energy blade was met by the sword of his opponent. The sound of energy sizzling filled the air while the human with glasses grinded his energy sword against the large halberd.

"You cannot win, Quincy." Yukio icily stated.

Before Uryū could respond, the blade of the hanyou suddenly coated itself in the white demonic aura. Feeling added pressure being applied to his own energy blade, the Quincy gritted his teeth and dug his heels into the ground, but found himself soon being pushed backwards with his feet scrapping through the dirt.

Feeling more pressure being applied to his blade, the Quincy eyed his sword, noting the blade's energy seemed to be wavering. "_Damn it, I've used up too much energy. Seeled Schneider can't take this kind of abuse much longer, even if I am drawing on it's power to hold him off. That means I only have one choice..._"

Pushing off from the blade of the hanyou, the Quincy quickly retreated to the sides of the two humans. Feeling a wave of fatigue overtake him, he fell to one knee and panted lightly, but kept his eyes glued to the hanyou.

"Dawn is still a little over five minutes away." Iya bluntly stated while chancing a glance at the morning sky. Turning his gaze to the weakened Quincy, he added "From the looks of things, you'll not last till then."

Rolling his eyes mentally, Uryū forced his body off of the ground and back to his feet. "He is stronger than any demon I have fought in recent years. Maybe even stronger than any I have ever fought, which doesn't do the demon race much good since he is simply a half demon. I'll grant you this, he won't be easy to take down."

"As for whether I will last till dawn or not, that is questionable."

Casting a sideways glance at the dark blue eyed human, Lilly asked "What do you mean by that?"

"Right now, I could probably continue fighting till dawn if it was I alone, but that is not the case here." Uryū commented. "The two of you are still here and I cannot allow him to kill either of you also, but that puts me in a perplexing situation. I don't have enough strength to protect all three of us till dawn. If I do…"

"You'll be killed." Iya finished. Remaining silent for a moment, he slowly asked "Do you have any attacks that could bind him till dawn?"

Mulling over the question for a few seconds, the Quincy calmly responded with "I have only two spells that will bind. The first is Gritz, which you have already seen thus far. That spell simply surrounds whatever I wish to with a barrier, protecting them from inside and outside forces."

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he added "If I used that spell, I may hold him for one to three minutes, but it would take almost all my strength to hold him that long."

"Meaning that spell is of no use to us." the black haired human murmured. "What of the second spell you have?"

Sighing slightly, the Quincy coolly responded in a calm voice "The second spell that I have will bind him, but that is only one part of the spell. That part happens first, but afterwards, a massive explosion will ensue. It is a technique meant to finish off an opponent, not to hold them."

"Besides that, it takes a bit of time to setup. Alone I could never pull it off. I would need someone to distract him long enough for me to get ready."

Digesting the words of the Quincy for a moment, Iya quietly asked "In your opinion, what should we do?"

Remaining silent, Uryū reached up and pushed his glasses back up on his nose, allowing a glimmer of moonlight to reflect off of them. "If we're going to live, I think our best option is to use the spell that I have that takes a bit of time to setup. At the worst, while he's being held, dawn will break and then the two of you can do whatever you wish with him if this fails."

"I see… Then there is no other choice?" Iya questioned while hiding his eyes in the shadows of his bangs.

Glancing at the young man who had spoke, the Quincy returned his gaze to the hanyou some distance away, saying "I'm almost certain this is the only way we'll stay alive."

Looking at her mate with glassy eyes, Lilly softly said "Iya, we can…"

Cutting his mate off, Iya tersely remarked "It has to end this way, Lilly. If Yukio is allowed to keep fighting like this, he'll surely kill one of us three, and I won't allow innocent blood to be spilt because of what I did in the past... I know he'll harm one of you over me, just to inflict more pain to me. I won't allow it."

"Tell me, Uryū, what do you need me to do to use this technique?"

"I need you to distract him for half a minute, at least."

Drawing Ketsaiga out of it's sheath, the black haired young man softly said "I think I can handle that. Just make sure you're ready when time is up, because I won't be able to hold him off for very long."

Receiving a nod from the Quincy, Iya glanced at his mate, finding worry deeply etched into her face. Moving closer to her, he pecked her cheek, saying "Have faith, love. I will not die."

With his words said, he bounded towards his son, who kept his gaze locked on him. Reaching the hanyou, Iya struck out at him, only to have his blade easily parried by his opponent.

"Decided to fight me at last, have you, Iya Taisho?" Yukio questioned.

Pushing against the blade of his son with all his might, the black haired human grunted out "I won't let you harm my mate or my friends! You must realize that what you're doing is wrong!"

Feeling himself losing ground, Iya tried digging his feet into the ground, only to feel himself being pushed backwards by the hanyou. Pushing with all his might, he tried to stop the sliding, only to find he was still losing ground.

Without warning, the hanyou lashed out with a powerful kick to the human's side, sending him flying across the battlefield with a loud thud. Glaring in the direction of the human, the hanyou began to move towards him, only to have the Quincy suddenly appear before him in a flash with his energy sword held out and pointed at the hanyou.

"So, you wish to continue our fight?" Yukio questioned with a stale tone. "You know you cannot win either, so why throw your life away?"

Smirking slightly while holding out his blade still, the Quincy suddenly flipped the blade so that it pointed at the ground. Falling to one knee, he stabbed the blade into the ground. Confused at this motion, the hanyou began to speak but suddenly gasped in surprise as a burst of light blue energy emerged from the ground where the sword was stabbed into it.

Light blue energy raced towards where the hanyou stood and roped around his feet, effectively keeping him trapped on the ground. Glancing around, he found that there were four other hilts of the same sword sticking out of the ground and forming a star like shape around him.

"I knew you would be more than happy to fight Iya Taisho." Uryū commented while standing back up. "Because of that, you gave me more than enough time to ready this attack, known simply as Sprenger. As you can tell, you are effectively trapped by the energy of my five Seeled Schneiders. They will continue to bind you to the ground, keeping you from escaping. Of course, this spell won't last long, so I must finish this battle quickly with the second part of this attack.

Pointing his index finger at the hilt of the sword before himself, the Quincy let out a light grunt as light blue energy began forming around his finger. Glancing back at the hanyou, he coolly said "This is the end, demon. Farewell."

Energy instantly poured from the Quincy's finger and struck the hilt of the energy blade, making the energy already being released from it flare wildly. Eyes widening, Yukio saw the energy flare up within all five blades, causing them to form energy lines between themselves, completing the pentagon. The energy suddenly raced inwards towards him.

All at once, the energy met in the middle, triggering a massive explosion. The cries of the hanyou in pain sounded off throughout the clearing, making all shutter slightly from the sounds of it. A column of light blue energy filled the space within the pentagon, hiding from view what was happening within it. With one last massive explosion, the light blue light faded, leaving only dust and smoke in the air and hiding the area of the explosion.

Falling to one knee, Uryū began panting heavily while sweat poured down the sides of his face and onto the ground. In a raspy voice, he muttered "I'm spent."

Staring at the dusty battlefield, Iya slowly turned away and walked about five feet before falling onto his hands and knees. Tears streamed down his face as he slammed his fists angrily into the ground.

Voice full of emotion, he sobbed out loudly "Damn it, it wasn't supposed to end like this… I didn't want to kill him! All I wanted to do was save him!"

Feeling the hands of his mate gently pull him into a comforting embrace, he placed his head into the crook of her neck. Softly, Lilly stroked his hair, whispering "Let it all out."

"You are truly pathetic, Iya Taisho."

Ceasing his sobbing instantly, Iya turned back towards where the dust was settling, along with his mate and the Quincy. All three could hardly suppress a gasp of shock when the figure of the white haired hanyou was seen.

His clothing was a bit more tattered than before the explosion, with a few burns coating his skin, but altogether, he seemed unharmed. The blade in his right hand seemed about as pristine as it always had throughout the battle.

"Impossible…" Uryū whispered.

Staring at the kneeling Quincy, Yukio coolly said "I take it you're surprised I survived. You should have known that I would not fall so easily against a mere human."

"Though I will admit, your attack nearly did succeed in killing me. If not for my quick thinking, I most likely would be dead."

Pausing for a moment, he continued on, saying "Before your attack had a chance to explode, I used an ability of Fenrir to protect myself. It has the ability to project a barrier made up of my lightning element. I did suffer minor damage from the beginning of the explosion, but my barrier soon came to life and protected me from a majority of the blast and thus keeping me alive."

Growling lightly, Uryū turned towards the hanyou and attempted to stand, only to fall back down to the ground. "Damn it…"

"You have reached your limit, Quincy." Yukio stated. "You have nothing to be ashamed of though, for you nearly did defeat me, but in the end, that is little consolation since you failed. For your insolence, I will finish you off first."

Drawing his blade up before his body, the hanyou vanished into thin air, only to reappear a few feet away from the Quincy with his blade ready to piece through his opponent. Before he could do anything, Iya was before the Quincy and parried the attack.

Grinding his blade against the smaller blade of the human, Yukio snidely remarked "You are at your limit also, Iya Taisho. The last hope of you defeating me faded with that Quincy's strength."

Looking into the eyes of the hanyou, the black haired human slightly smirked, saying "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

About to reply, the hanyou stopped and instead frowned when he noted the human's body pulsated unexpectedly. Throwing a quick glance of his right shoulder, he saw that the sun had begun to climb into the sky once more and was throwing it's light onto the battlefield.

Returning his attention to his opponent, the hanyou glanced behind the pulsating human to note the young woman nearby was also pulsating. "You managed to drag out this battle till dawn after all."

"That's right, meaning I'll soon be on even ground with you." Iya victoriously stated.

Pulsating once more, both humans bodies began to slowly transform as the sunlight beamed throughout the area. Each of their finger nails changed into longer claws while their fangs grew back into their mouths. Their human ears slowly sucked back into their heads while ears began sprouting a top their heads, with the young man growing dog ones and the young woman receiving cat ears. Behind the young woman, a long black tail spouted out, which flicked once when it was fully grown. The last to change was their eyes, with the young woman's going from light blue to an emerald green with slits and the young man's becoming a muddy brown color.

Feeling his body finished with it's changes, Iya calmly said "This fight has shifted in our favor, my son. I suggest you submit."

"Such foolishness." Yukio commented with disdain in his voice. Pressing his blade harder against the black haired dog hanyou, he found he could not push him backwards.

Gripping Ketsaiga tightly, the black haired dog hanyou called forth it's transformation, transforming the smaller blade into it's halberd state. Grinding his sword against the blade of the white haired hanyou, he pushed all of his strength behind the sword, sending his son skidding backwards.

Keeping his muddy brown eyes glued to the form of the white haired hanyou, Iya spoke up, saying "Lilly, take Uryū and go somewhere safe. I'll continue this battle alone."

"But Iya, you may need my help! Let me …"

"Lilly, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you must understand something." the black haired hanyou began. "Yukio is my only son. Though I didn't know he existed, I feel I owe it to him to fight him alone and try to help him understand my intentions. Please, I need to do this alone."

Mulling over the words of her mate for a few long moments, she softly replied "You know he won't listen."

Silence filled the air for what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality only a few seconds of time. Sucking in a deep breath, the black haired hanyou quietly answered back "I know… Still, I have to try."

Staring at the back of her mate longingly, the neko felt tears in her eyes threatening to spill out and down her cheeks. Pushing them back and clenching her hands into tight fists, she at last began moving forward to the side of the fallen Quincy. Reaching out her right hand, she mumbled "Come on, we need to go."

Standing, the Quincy's legs nearly gave out but the neko hanyou was quick to catch him. Giving her a grateful smile, he glanced back at the lone dog hanyou facing off with the other hanyou.

Hardening his eyes and resolve, Uryū called out in a firm tone "You had better not lose, Iya."

"I won't." Iya responded while keeping his back to the pair.

Eyeing her mate's back with concerned eyes, Lilly whispered softly into the air "Come back to me."

In a faint whisper, she heard him reply "I will."

Crouching down before the Quincy, the neko calmly said "Get on my back, Uryū."

Blushing slightly, Uryū hesitated. Sensing his hesitation, Lilly replied "It's alright, just get on."

At last, the Quincy responded to her commands and climbed onto her back. Feeling him completely on, she stood and turned away. Quickly, the neko raced away from the battlefield, but not before casting one last longing glance at her mate.

"_Please Iya, come back to me, no matter what. I only wonder what will become of you once this is over. The wounds in your heart that Kaia left had only just begun to heal at long last, and yet now they are most likely torn back open. Please, don't sink back into that sadness once more. I want nothing more than for you to be happy, but I only wonder if that's possible._"

Returning her attention to the ground before her, she whispered in her mind "_Just live, and if you do, I'll do whatever it takes to heal your heart. Whatever pain you have after this battle, share it with me, and I will shoulder the guilt you feel for your past. Even if that means I will be dragged into the darkness myself, I'll gladly do so, just so the load you carry is a bit lighter. No matter what, I will always be there to help you. Just return to me, no matter what._"


	9. Chapter 9: Submission

**Hey there everybody! (/hears group shout back "Hi Doctor Nick!"\) Hmm, still can't seem to break people or myself of that. (/shrugs\) Anyways, let's see, life is going along about normal. Still staying busy at work with a deadline of November 15****th****, but we seem to be staying on target for that date, at the moment. Strangely enough, I'm getting all my work done before the others, which frightens me. I'm normally the slowpoke of the group. Fine by me though, seeing how it frees me up somewhat. Let's see, what else is happening… Ah yes, both my mate and I went to see my mother this past weekend. She lives down in Richmond, VA, which is nearly 5 ½ hours from here. We had a great time there. Heh, Saturday, we had planned to go to Washington, D.C., but we got a late start, plus within 30 miles, traffic was backed up. After seeing that, we decided to postpone a trip to DC for another time. Instead, we went to a local mall and shopped for a while there. I ended up buying a candle was all, but my mate and mom got a few things. In the end, we left Sunday and returned home, though not without incident. I had gotten new tires a week ago on my car, but on the way home, the car began vibrating. I had felt this before and brushed it off in the past as my old tires. It didn't go away like before, so I stopped and checked my tire pressures. The idiots who put my tires on screwed up all 4 tire pressures. Each was freaking different! The following are all 4 pressures: 31, 35, 33, 37. That is a major amount of difference in each. No wonder my car vibrated like it was possessed, lol. At any rate, I put them all back at 35 lbs and had no issues afterwards, though my mate let the door hit the air pump… Meh, I was already agitated with her over misreading the directions, so that on top of everything didn't help. I got over it though and apologized for being angry. It's just a car, I suppose. It'll pass away like everything else, in the end. Anyways, we made it home safe and sound. Hmm, not much else has really happened that I can think of, so I'll move along.**

**Writing wise, things are moving along well. I'm still working on getting more chapters done and it seems to be going good. After this chapter, there will be 4 more chapters, I believe. With any luck, this story will finish posting before the end of the year. As for what comes afterwards, well, we'll see. I have plans on writing up a one-shot for Yugioh GX in the near future. I also have ideas on Bleach and Naruto stories, but I may shelve them for the time being till I feel I'm done with Inuyasha.**

**At any rate, moving along, it's time again! That's right, review time!**

**kattana: It's cool about not being able to get to the update for a while. Heh, I was wondering if something was up, but I see that your computer has died. That always sucks. Yeah, reading at work is fun, when you find time, hehe. Yes, Iya, Lilly, and Uryu survived till dawn. Now it seems things are up to Iya to try and handle his son. Still, one has to wonder if there isn't a way to make that stubborn son of his listen to what Iya has to say. Never know, he may figure out that Iya isn't lying, eventually. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: (/Looks around in confusion.\) Ok, I think my mate and I landed in the middle of a horror movie… Oh, now I see. Heh, cool about your cards coming to life. Just be mindful to not let them take over the world. No Illidan to save it this time, hehe. Yeah, Uryu fought hard and did all he could to stop Yukio, but in the end, it wasn't enough still to stop him. True, Uryu took some major punishment for protecting both Lilly and Iya while they were human, but now that those two are back to their hanyou selves, things should hopefully change. Yep, Iya and Lilly are back to full strength, so things should be interesting. Heh, I figured Uryu in the state he was in would only be in the way. That and he wanted to fight Yukio alone. You're correct, Iya is certainly not a saint, which is what I tried to convey. He has made mistakes along the way and paid for them, but is trying to redeem himself by doing whatever he can to help others. Yes, Lilly wanted to aide Iya, and not just due that their life forces are tied together. Both love one another deeply and would do whatever necessary to protect the other. Heh, no problems about the soap box moment. I tend to do the same at times. Honestly, I think all that drama between some of these people should just be taken off the air, but people love it for some reason. It makes their lives mean something, apparently… That is rather sad to be honest. Watching others suffer in reality is not meant to be entertaining. Feh, stupid people… True, an anime revolution must occur! Bring in the animes with a point! Heh, I find it entertaining some people find anime demonic though. Once upon a time, someone told me Inuyasha and Yugioh were evil. After all, demons are wrong on all levels, even anime ones, lol. I blankly replied that they should look at the themes behind them, not at the attributes of the characters. Inuyasha teaches tolerance towards others, disregarding what race you are. Yugioh taught people to believe in themselves and their friends. Both promote friendship on many levels, yet people only see darkness within the shows. That's part of the problem anymore, people look at the top level, not the underlying theme beneath everything. (/Gets down off soap box.\) Ok, that's my take on that, lol. I will admit, a lot of anime being cranked out anymore has become rather interesting. Bleach, Inuyasha, Yugioh, Death Note (dark, but enlightening to the world's views), Naruto, etc, all are very intriguing with their numerous themes. Good luck with the cards by the way. Thanks for the review!**

**Well, that's it for the reviews. Thanks to both of you for your continued support. It's really nice to have both of you reviewing and letting me know what's working and what's not. Heh, some days I ponder if I'm even doing a decent job on this story, but seeing your reviews renews my confidence that I am. Anyways, if anyone hasn't reviewed but wishes to express their thoughts or comments, do feel free to do so. I won't bite. Well, hard at least, lol. But seriously, I am curious to hear everyone's thoughts, so send me a review or PM and let me know.**

**At any rate, time for me to run. Thanks once more to everyone for their support. I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9**

Eyeing the fleeing hanyou and human, Yukio stoically said "Your lives belong to me, so I shall take them now."

Vanishing in a flash, the white haired hanyou closed in on the neko carrying the Quincy, only to come to a skidding stop as the black haired dog hanyou reappeared before him with his sword raised and ready to strike.

"Your fight is with me, Yukio, not them."

Staring blankly at the black haired hanyou for a moment, the white haired hanyou slowly smirked, saying "So you're in the mood to fight at last. But I wonder, is your resolve strong enough to kill your own son?"

Gripping Ketsaiga tightly, Iya firmly responded with "I don't want to kill you, but if you intend to continue endangering my mate and all those that had nothing to do with what I did to your mother, then I will fight you, and if necessary, kill you."

Pausing for a moment, the black haired hanyou hid his eyes beneath the shadows of his bangs and softly said "What I did to your mother, I can never be forgiven. I don't deserve it, nor will I ever receive it."

Raising his head suddenly and revealing hardened muddy brown eyes, he fiercely added "But that does not mean I cannot atone for my crimes. I may never be able to wash her blood off of my hands, but I can try to make up for what I once did. I know in my heart at the least that I am trying to fix what I did."

"You are truly foolish, Iya Taisho." Yukio ground out. "My mother could not forgive you, nor can I for what you have done. I promise you this on my honor, you will die here today!"

Letting a ragged sigh, Iya quietly mumbled "I see words mean nothing to you. In that case, I shall have to make you submit."

"Unlikely." the white haired hanyou bit out.

In a flash, both vanished, only to soon reappear together with their blades clashing twenty feet away. Sparks flew into the morning air, along with the sound of steel singing out. Grinding their blades against one another, the pair soon vanished once more, reappearing randomly throughout the battlefield with their blades striking one another again and again.

After about twenty minutes of clashing against one another, the pair finally separated, with both panting and sweat streaming down the sides of their faces and staining their kimono tops. Each eyed the other for an opening in the other's defenses, but neither could find one.

"You've been well trained, my son." Iya commented with a small smirk on his face. Slowing his breathing, he could see the anger welling up within his son immediately.

In an angered roar, Yukio fired back "Do not patronize me!"

"I meant no disrespect, Yukio." Iya quipped. "I was just commenting that your skills are quite impressive. I would expect no less from my son."

Anger rolling off of him in waves, the white haired hanyou let out a feral roar while charging towards the black haired half demon. Raising his blade, the black haired hanyou parried the attack, but was pushed backwards several feet from the tremendous force that slammed into his sword. Bringing himself to a skidding stop, he ground his sword against his opponent's and glanced into his son's eyes.

Finding a swirl of anger and hatred still within them, he quietly said "Yukio, you can't win this battle. Submit before I make you do so."

"SHUT UP!" Yukio snarled out. "I will never submit to the likes of you! I would rather die than ever admit defeat to you! No matter what happens, I will avenge my mother by taking your life!"

Pushing away from the white haired hanyou, Iya came to rest and lowered his blade slightly, saying "The odds are against you, my son. Without a doubt, you are strong, but you do not have the reserves to beat me. In the last few hours, you have fought not only myself in my human and hanyou forms, but also my mate and the Quincy. When the sun rose, all of my demonic power was restored, giving me the edge. It's simple to figure out that I am at full strength while you are weakened."

"I WILL NOT LOSE!" Yukio roared in response.

About to respond, the black haired hanyou was cut off when he saw his son's blade begin glowing with it's white demonic aura. Bolts of electrical energy darted off of the blade, striking the ground and leaving small pits in it in numerous places.

Drawing the blade up over his head, the white haired half dog demon swung the sword downwards while crying out "DENKOU NO KIZU!"

Reacting quickly upon seeing the electrical energy forming into a claw like shape, Iya drew his own blade up over his head while Ketsaiga pulsated for a moment. Bringing it downwards quickly, he yelled out "Wind Slash!"

A blast of white demonic energy raced forward immediately, tearing the ground to pieces while it plowed ahead. At the same time, the electrical claw like energy rushed straight towards the white energy, seemingly determined to tear through it.

The pair of energies met in the middle of the battlefield, with each slamming into one another, creating a massive explosion. For a few moments, the two struggled against one another with each trying to win dominance over the other. Soon enough, the two blasts of energy simply exploded, sending dust, smoke, and debris flying into the air and ending the clash.

"Impossible…" Yukio whispered. Glaring at the black haired hanyou, he ground out "There is no possible way that your pathetic attack could draw even with my own!"

Calmly, Iya replied "You forget that when the sun rose, my demonic powers returned, thus giving me access to Ketsaiga's full power once more. True, in my human form, my Wind Slashes are quite a bit weaker, but in my hanyou form, that is not the case. It seems our attacks are even in power."

Clutching the hilt of his sword tightly, the white haired hanyou raised his blade up over his head once more, roaring out "I am superior to you! Die! DENKOU NO KIZU!"

With the downwards slashing motion, the white haired half demon unleashed another lightning filled claw like attack. It raced forward, destroying the ground in it's path while moving towards the unmoving black haired dog hanyou.

Staring at the incoming attack, Iya called forth Ketsaiga's power, causing the blade to pulsate for a moment before coating itself in ice. Raising the ice coated blade over his head, he swung it downwards quickly and struck the ground.

"Ice Barrier!"

Instantly, a wall of ice that was twenty feet tall and three feet thick, formed before the black haired hanyou like a shield. The lightning attack slammed hard into it, making the ice creak loudly. A few more moments went by before the lightning blast finally ran out of strength and dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a steaming chunk of ice with damage to it.

Stepping out from behind the wall of ice, Iya glanced at the ice wall, finding it was for the most part unharmed. Returning his attention to the white haired hanyou, he noted how anger seethed in his eyes while he grit his teeth.

Hearing his son release a might battle cry, the black haired hanyou watched him vanish into thin air. Reaching out with his senses, he quickly picked up on his opponent's position and used Ketsaiga to parry an incoming slash. The sound of steel clashing sung out into the air immediately while sparks feel to the ground harmlessly.

"You can't win, Yukio. Submit or I'll make you." Iya evenly stated as his blade ground against the white haired hanyou's.

Scoffing at the words spoken to him, Yukio placed his left hand on the backside of his blade and angrily spat in reply "I WILL NEVER SUBMIT TO A BASTARD LIKE YOU! NOW DIE! DENKOU NO KIZU!"

Eyes widening, the black haired dog hanyou gasped in surprise as the lightning attack flared to life and began pressing against him, sending him skidding backwards. He held Ketsaiga protectively before himself, allowing it to grind against the powerful attack that was pushing him along.

Digging his heels into the ground, he felt himself come to a stop but felt the power of the lightning energy around him surging and preparing to detonate. Releasing a loud growl, he began slashing downwards and cried out "WIND SLASH!"

White energy flew out of the end of the large halberd instantly and slammed into the powerful lightning attack. The two fought for dominance over the other, with neither seemingly gaining the upper hand at all. At last, the two blasts slowly subsided, with each cancelling the other out completely.

Panting heavily, Iya reached up to his forehead and wiped the sweat off with his kimono sleeve, mumbling to himself "That was a close one."

Glancing at his son, the black haired hanyou wasn't surprised when he saw him rushing towards his location with blade raised and ready to strike. Quickly moving his sword before himself, he managed to parry the heavy laden blade of his opponent.

Drawing back his sword, Yukio struck out at the blade of the black haired hanyou's, only to be parried again. Pulling it back, he rapidly brought it downwards onto the blade of his opponent's, sending sparks flying throughout the air.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! Why won't you just die!" the white haired hanyou shouted angrily.

Vanishing before his sword could be hit again, Iya reappeared behind his son with Ketsaiga's tip touching the back of his opponent. "Submit Yukio. You lost your opportunity to defeat me when I regained my demonic powers."

Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly while growling, the white haired hanyou suddenly vanished, but soon rematerialized ten feet away from the black haired dog hanyou. Sending out a death glare at his opponent, he drew his blade up over his head and tightened his hold on the hilt. White energy immediately began encircling the sword while electrical bolts shot off of it.

Swinging the sword downwards quickly, he screamed out "DENKOU NO KIZU!"

"You never learn…" Iya commented while the lightning attack began moving towards his position. With one hand, he drew Ketsaiga over his head and brought it downwards quickly, coolly saying "Wind Slash."

Rushing forward instantly was a burst of white demonic energy. It and the lightning energy slammed into one another like previously before, each fighting the other once more for dominance, but with neither getting ahead of the other. Soon enough, the two blasts faded away, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.

Growling lowly while gripping the hilt of his sword tightly till his claws dug into his palms, causing them to bleed slightly, Yukio snarled out "You are not my equal! I refuse to acknowledge that!"

"It's true, we're not equals." Iya calmly replied. "The truth is, I'm the better of the two of us from what I've seen thus far. You have great power, my son, but not nearly enough to defeat me. I implore you, submit. You cannot win this fight."

"YOU ARE NOTHING!" Yukio yelled with anger laced within his voice. "No matter what, I will avenge my mother today! I will have finally killed you so her spirit can at last be at peace!"

Letting out a light sigh, the dog hanyou with black hair shook his head and sadly smiled. "No peace will come from killing me, Yukio. If you should happen to strike me down, you will only cause more pain. Your uncles would hunt you down and kill you, even though I asked both to not do so."

"I don't care! You will die here today, no matter what I must do!"

Calling forth his sword's white demonic aura, the white haired hanyou let out a low growl as his body was encircled by the same aura. Clutching the hilt tightly while bringing the blade before his body, the hanyou's demonic aura began spilling out throughout the area, making the air seem sickly thick.

Raising his sword up over his body, Yukio swung it downwards quickly, screaming out "THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER! DENKOU TAIFUU!"

Forming instantly and flying away from the white haired hanyou was a swirling dark gray typhoon with yellow electricity flaring off of it and within it seemingly. It tore through the ground while it bounded towards the black haired hanyou, who stood his ground.

Calling forth Ketsaiga's icy transformation, Iya drew his blade before him and held it straight out at the incoming attack. In a calm tone, he said "Cold Wave."

The typhoon slammed hard into the blade of the black haired hanyou and seemingly engulfed him, leaving nothing behind. Before long, the typhoon went from horizontal to vertical, seemingly holding the dog hanyou captive.

Not even a minute passed that without warning the typhoon dissipated, leaving behind the lone black haired dog hanyou. He was panting heavily but appeared to be unharmed from the attack.

Panting heavily himself, the white haired hanyou could not help but gasp in surprise. "How did you survive that? Nothing can stop my attack…"

"That attack, it combined both wind and lightning elements, giving it great strength and power, thus making it a formidable attack. It's true, not many could stop such an attack, but I can due to the powers I have. The elements I control are wind and ice. It is those elements that gave me the power to stop your attack." Iya explained.

Pausing for a moment, he continued, saying "When your attack engulfed me, I used my powers of cold on your attack. Your lightning requires warm air to circulate in order for it to work, but the moment I mixed in that frigid air, your attack coped out."

Taking in the information just told to him, the white haired hanyou looked down at the ground momentarily before flashing fiery eyes at his opponent. See them, Iya could not help but feel a pang of guilt within his heart.

"Yukio, please, submit. I don't want to harm you, but if you don't willingly do so, I will make you by any means necessary."

"Is that right?" Yukio questioned wistfully. "Then you will have to do so, because I refuse to surrender to the likes of you!"

Sighing slightly, the black haired hanyou quietly replied "Don't make me harm you, son. I have no desire to do so. Let us end this fight peacefully. There is no need for you to be hurt."

"THE ONLY ONE TO BE HURT HERE WILL BE YOU!" Yukio snarled while suddenly charging towards the black haired hanyou.

Within a few feet of his target, the white haired dog hanyou vanished into thin air. He soon reappeared in mid-air and with his sword drawn over his head and coming downwards towards his opponent.

With little effort, Iya parried the attack and pushed his son's blade backwards, effectively sending the hanyou flying. Reaching out with his left hand, he flicked his energy whip at him, allowing it to wrap around the flying hanyou's ankle. Tugging on it, he flung him higher into the air, but not before jerking the whip downwards, sending the white haired hanyou crashing into the ground with tremendous force. Dust and debris flew into the air, obscuring his vision temporarily, allowing him time to recall his whip.

Reaching out with his senses, the black haired half dog demon heard coughing and picked up the scent of blood as well. The dust soon enough settled, revealing the white dog hanyou in a small crater with blood dripping down from his lip. He quickly stood and leapt a safe distance away.

"Yukio, submit. You can't win." Iya stated in a firm tone.

Growling lowly to himself, Yukio angrily spat back "NEVER!"

Releasing a small sigh, the black haired half demon slowly strode towards his son, saying "Don't make me continue to harm you, Yukio. I know you wish to kill me, but you can't in the condition you're in. Please, just submit."

"You'll have to kill me before I submit to you!"

Noting the steely resolve within the white haired dog hanyou's eyes, Iya closed his eyes momentarily and took in a deep breath. "_So much pain within those depths… Nothing I say is going to change his mind. I have but one choice, and that is to stop him. Forgive me, Kaia, for what I must do to our son, but I have no choice left._"

Reopening his eyes with resolve filling them, he gripped Ketsaiga tightly and drew it to his right side and brought it up to beside of his face with the blade pointed at his son. Shifting his left foot forward and repositioning himself into a left forward stance, he let out a low grunt. Without warning, his light blue demonic aura flared to life around his body, coating him completely in it and causing a powerful wind to kick up around his body, causing his clothing to float ruffle in the wind and his hair to break free of the ribbon that held it in place. With no binding to hold it in it's usual ponytail, it begin to float while the ground beneath him was ripping apart from the power rising out of his body.

"Time to settle this! I'm going to hit you with every last ounce of strength I have left!"

Sneering, Yukio firmly replied "I shall do the same to you."

Suddenly, the white aura of the white haired hanyou sprung to life, enveloping him in it's power instantly. The ground began falling apart from the tremendous power rising out of his body while a fell wind blew around his body, causing his clothing and hair to begin ruffling in the air. Shifting into a left forward stance, he brought his blade up beside his body, much like his opponent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What incredibly powerful demonic auras…" Uryū murmured while staring at the flaring auras in the distance.

Looking off in the distance at the site of the battle that was raging on, Lilly quietly said "They're getting ready to finish the fight."

"With power like that, either one could win."

Shaking her head slightly, the neko hanyou allowed a small smile to form on her face before shifting the weight of the Quincy that was on her back. "No, I know who will win. He promised he would return to me, thus I know he'll win this fight."

"Iya never makes a promise that he cannot keep. I know in my heart that he will win, no matter what it takes."

Glancing at the head of the young woman that he was holding onto, the Quincy quietly commented back "I only hope you're right, for if he fails, there is no one left to stop him."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pushing all of their weight onto their left legs, both the white and black haired hanyous charged forward while letting out a loud yells. The two soon met in the middle of the battleground with their blades striking one another. The sudden impact of the two's blades caused the ground beneath them to begin crumbling away into nothingness.

Sparks of pure energy flared off of each sword while the two ground the blades against one another. Both hanyous growled lowly as each tried to push the other backwards, only to have both not moving at all.

"My strength is backed by all the anger and hatred that my mother and I felt for you over all of these years! Can you withstand it, Iya Taisho!?" Yukio angrily declared. Growling lowly, he ground his blade harder against the black haired hanyou's, forcing his sword back a small distance.

Losing ground slightly, Iya dug his feet into the ground and growled out "I deserve that anger and hatred, but I cannot condone what either of you intended to do. Both of you were blinded by that very same anger and hatred into serving Byakuya Kuchiki, who used both of you for his own gains. What did he ever do to help either of you!?"

Eyes widening slightly, the white haired hanyou watched as his blade was slightly pushed back towards him, seemingly shifting the advantage back to his opponent. Growling lowly, he ground out "You know nothing of me!"

"I know little about you, Yukio, but I do know one thing for certain. You are my son, and though I disapprove of you having chosen to follow The Thirteen, I still love you."

Upon hearing the words of the black haired half demon, Yukio's eyes widened a fraction. In that one moment of shock, Iya took advantage of it and leapt backwards, opening up his son's defenses when he lurched forward. Leaping back forward, he drew Ketsaiga out to his right side and readied himself for the next strike. Recovering quickly, the white haired hanyou drew his own blade to his right side.

The two met head on, with both their blades slamming against one another, causing a column of energy to rise over one hundred feet into the air. Dust and debris flew into the air instantly, coating the battlefield in a shroud.

Slowly, the dust settled, revealing the two dog hanyous facing away from one another with a distance of eight feet separating them. Both had their blades held before their bodies. A small breeze kicked up, ruffling their clothing and hair, but neither moved.

Sadly smiling, Yukio weakly whispered "Mother, please forgive me for being too weak to avenge you. I'm truly sorry…"

With his words finishing up, half of his halberd fell towards the ground. The tip dug into it with a loud clang, which was soon joined by the sound of dripping. Releasing his hold on the remainder of his sword, the white haired hanyou began to fall forward as he lost consciousness. Striking the ground, blood splashed out and began soaking into the ground.

"You are truly strong, my son." Iya quietly whispered while cringing.

Looking at Ketsaiga, he couldn't help but feel remorse for damage done to the blade. A large gap was cut into it that just barely reached the middle of it. The gap was nearly a foot wide and left the blade seemingly incomplete.

Letting out a light whimper, he looked over at his right shoulder, finding a deep gash with blood pouring out of the wound. Pushing the pain out of his mind, he turned around to look at his fallen son.

"IYA!"

Glancing off to his right to find his mate with the Quincy on her back rushing towards him, he slightly smiled. The two soon arrived, with the Quincy sliding off of her back and onto his wobbly legs.

Moving before her mate, she took in his looks and noted his shoulder wound, along with the damage to his sword. Reaching into her kimono for a rag she carried, she quickly pulled it out along with a small jar of salve. Sadly smiling and shaking her head, she said "You overdid it again from the looks of things."

"A bit." Iya dryly commented. Stopping his mate's hands from touching his wound, he quietly said "This isn't too bad. We can treat it later."

"But Iya…"

Walking away and towards the white haired hanyou laying on the ground, he stopped before him. Joined by his mate, he heard her hesitantly begin to ask "Did you…"

"No, I didn't kill him." the half dog demon answered. "I merely wounded him, but he needs treatment. The wound will take at least a week for him to completely recover."

"Wait a minute, do you intend to let him live?" Uryū questioned from nearby.

A moment of silence filled the air before Iya replied "Yes, I do. I owe my son so much more than that, but for now, this is the best I can do for him."

Spotting a purple ribbon laying on the ground near his son, the dog hanyou couldn't help but muse at the sight. "_Kaia's ribbon, it's almost like a piece of her returning to Yukio._"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, the black haired dog hanyou moved forward and picked up the ribbon. Placing it into his kimono, he turned towards his mate and softly asked "Lilly, can you help put him onto my back?"

Glancing from her mate to the fallen hanyou and then back to her mate, the neko hanyou bit her lower lip. Sensing the uneasiness in her, Iya reached out and softly cupped her cheek. "I know you worry about me doing this, but I feel we should try to help him and the others out by taking care of them while they are wounded. Please, help me."

Letting out a soft sigh, Lilly quietly replied "I will, but I don't want you to be hurt in your heart more than you already are over your past."

"Don't worry about my heart. So long as I have you by my side, that's all I need."

Weakly nodding, the neko carefully lifted the unconscious hanyou onto her mate's back. With him on, the black haired dog hanyou waited patiently while the Quincy quietly mounted onto the back of his mate. Finally with both passengers loaded, the pair took off in the direction of north, heading back towards the village.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching the outskirts of the village, Iya came to a stop, causing his mate do the same. Glancing at the dog hanyou carrying his unconscious son, Uryū asked "Why are we stopping?"

"Uryū, is there an abandoned hut or something on the outskirts of the village?"

Frowning at the question of the black haired dog hanyou, the Quincy thought for a moment before replying "Yes, there is one near the stream, but why do you ask?"

Letting out a small sigh, Iya replied "I would like to leave my son someplace safe and secure so that he can rest."

"Oh…" the Quincy commented with understanding. "Yes, that would be the best thing to do."

"Uryū, are you talking about the hut that's near the dock?" Lilly suddenly asked.

Nodding in reply, Uryū responded with "Yeah, there is an older hut there that no one has lived in since I've been here."

"I know where that is. Come on Iya, follow me."

With her words said, the neko began trekking towards the desired location with her mate following behind her.

Soon enough, the pair arrived at the abandoned hut. For the most part, it was intact, with minor damage on the outside of it. Letting her passenger off, the neko walked up to the door and turned the knob to open it, only to find the door was stuck. Pushing on it a bit harder, she watched as the door fell straight to the ground, sending a cloud of dust flying into the air and making her cough lightly.

With the dust clearing, she looked back at her mate and the Quincy and sheepishly smiled while rubbing the back of her head with her right hand. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

Growing serious, she turned back to the hut and walked in. A few inches of dust covered the floor, sending a small cloud of it flying with every footstep she made. Finding a fire pit in the middle of the main room, she noted there were two smaller rooms off to each side, along with one in the back. Opening the sliding door to one of them, she looked in to find a futon covered in dust.

Walking out of the hut, she smiled at her mate, saying "This should do once it's cleaned out. I can do that right quick while you gather up the others."

"Alright, for now, I'll lay Yukio here near the hut." Iya replied while gently setting his son down onto the ground and leaning up against the hut. Turning to the Quincy, he asked "Should we worry about the villagers at the moment? After all, we're hanyou again and they may panic if they see us."

"They'll remain hidden until the signal is given that they can return. I'll remain here in case they do come back." Uryū responded.

Nodding in reply, the dog hanyou slowly began trekking away, leaving the neko and Quincy behind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Returning after collecting both of the three-quarters demons, with one slung over each shoulder, the dog hanyou laid both gently down next to his unconscious son. Looking into the hut, he saw his mate wearing a strip of fabric over her nose and working to still get rid of the dust within the hut.

Glancing at him, Lilly smiled under her mask and said "I've nearly got all of the dust out of here. I'd say another twenty minutes and I'll be done."

Nodding, the dog hanyou walked away, to another side of the hut. Pulling his sword out of his obi, he placed it against the hut. Reaching into his kimono, he pulled out a jar of salve and a dark colored cloth and set next to the sword. Undoing his obi, he dropped it wordlessly to the ground and proceeded to carefully pull his black kimono top off. Feeling a bit of pain flare from his wound, he managed to pull off the top at last and dropped it onto the ground with his obi. Pulling off his under shirt, he threw it on top of his black top.

Grabbing the dark cloth, he trekked down to the nearby stream and wet it before returning to the side of the hut. Dropping gracefully to the ground, he reached for the small jar of salve and set it next to him with the dark cloth also.

Looking over his wound, he saw that the blood had already dried. Reaching up and touching it with his left hand gently, he couldn't help but slightly cringe from the soreness of the wound.

Before he could do anything else, he felt a hand land on his left shoulder, making him shift his head to look behind him. Seeing it was Lilly, he noted she had a look of concern, but softness at the same time reflecting in her face.

"Let me do this for you. You always make a mess."

Complying with his mate's words, he handed her the rag. She instantly moved before him with a bowl she had brought with her and set it down. Dipping the rag into the water, she wrung it out and set to work on cleaning his wound. With gentle and practiced hands, the neko carefully cleaned out the wound, being mindful of how much pressure she applied. Soon enough, she had the dried blood removed and the wound itself clean.

Putting the rag to the side, she took the jar of ointment out and carefully began applying it to the cleaned wound, while at the same time humming a slow tune. Forgetting the pain of his wound and focusing on his mate's humming, the dog hanyou soon felt himself being lulled into a peaceful state.

Finishing up by applying some bandages that she had received from her sister-in-law, Lilly examined the bandaged wound and nodded at the work. Noting her mate seemed to be in a light slumber, she couldn't help but smile.

"_He looks so peaceful right now. After all he's been through, he deserves a bit of peace in his life._"

Glancing towards the other side of the hut, she couldn't help but let out a light sigh. "_I only wonder what Yukio will do when he wakes up. He hates Iya still I think, and I doubt that it will subside anytime soon. I could only pray it does._"

"You worry too much."

Snapping her gaze back to her mate's face, the neko immediately saw his muddy brown eyes boring into her own emerald. Looking away at last, she whispered "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Reaching out and cupping his mate's cheek affectionately, Iya softly replied "No matter what happens between Yukio and me, even if my heart does get hurt, I know I will be fine. It's your love that has helped some of my wounds from the past heal at long last. I know as long as you're by my side, I will always be able to move forward."

Relaxing into his touch, Lilly let out a contented sigh. Feeling the tension in his mate ease up, he quietly said "Lilly, I need to ask you to do me a favor."

Opening her eyes and looking at her mate, the neko asked "What is it?"

"I need to go see Totosai. Can you stay here and watch over those three and make sure none of them cause trouble or get into trouble?"

Frowning, the neko hanyou asked "Why are you going to go see Totosai?"

"Remember, Ketsaiga was damaged in my fight with Yukio. It needs repaired."

Pausing for a moment, Iya slowly added "Plus, I want him to fix Yukio's sword as well."

Releasing a small sigh, Lilly softly responded "You need to rest and let your wounds heal up for a few days. Besides, those three will recover within the next week. I can't wait on you to return from a long trip."

"I realize that Lilly, but it's only a day's journey there. I should be back by tomorrow evening if all goes well. And besides, those three should be out for at least two to three days, and even when they regain consciousness, they're going nowhere really till a few more days pass. It'll take at least a week for all their wounds to heal completely." the dog hanyou countered.

Biting her lower lip, the neko replied "I guess you can go."

Standing, the dog hanyou reached out a hand to his mate, who accepted it. Dragging her to her feet, he pulled her flush up against her body, making the neko slightly blush at the movement. Enjoying her shy look, he moved forward and placed a soft, gentle kiss onto her lips. A moment passed before he deepened it and asked for permission into her mouth with his tongue. She gladly accommodated him while at the same time looping her arms around his neck.

Feeling the passion of his mate flowing from her kiss, Iya let out a soft growl while nipping her bottom lip with his fangs. The nip drew a small amount of blood, but the neko only softly mewed in response. Soon enough, the two came up for air, with them resting their foreheads against one another's.

"Promise me you'll be back." Lilly softly commanded.

Smiling, Iya softly replied "I promise to return to you, mate. No matter what happens, I will always return to you."

Pulling away and looking into his muddy brown eyes, the neko wistfully smiled back, saying "I will keep you to that promise."

"Before you go, help me get those three into the hut."

Nodding, the dog hanyou put his two tops back on and retied his obi. Once done, he placed Ketsaiga back into his obi on his left hip. Complying with his mate's request, the dog hanyou carefully carried each of the three incomplete demons into the cleaned hut, placing each into their own separate rooms. Finishing up, he walked out of the hut to find the Quincy nearby, staring out at the stream the flowed by.

Walking over to him, Iya sat down next to him and said "Uryū, I have a favor to ask of you."

"I thought as much." the Quincy commented while pushing his glasses back up his nose with his right hand.

"I want you to please stay here and help Lilly take care of those three demons. I'm leaving to go have my sword repaired, but it will take a little over a half a day's journey to reach the sword smith who created my sword. I won't be back till tomorrow evening."

Remaining silent for a moment, Uryū smiled slightly, saying "I suppose I could lend her hand, though I must get my wounds taken care of. Plus I must go fetch the villagers and return them to the village now that the threat is over."

"Will the villagers attack Lilly or the others?"

Pondering over the question of the dog hanyou, the Quincy sighed. "I hope not. I will do what I can to protect her and the others, but I cannot promise the villagers won't act out. From what I gather happened to your mate when she was first turned into a hanyou, they may react the same way. Still, I'll do what I can to keep the peace."

Nodding while standing back up, Iya replied "Thank you. I appreciate all you've done for us, Uryū."

"You're welcome." the Quincy quipped. Pausing for a moment, he added in a serious tone "But should you bring any more demons back chasing after you, I will have your head."

Chuckling at the Quincy's words, the dog hanyou slyly replied "No worries, I think most of my enemies have given up on killing me anymore. You should have Lilly look at your wounds."

"I'll do that."

Turning away and walking towards the nearby hut, the dog hanyou entered to find his mate washing out the wounds of one of the three-quarters demons. Seeing her mate, she stood and came to him.

"I'm leaving, Lilly. Uryū will stay and help you with keeping an eye on these three. Also, could you take a look at his wounds?"

Nodding in reply, the neko softly said "I will. Be careful Iya."

"I will be. I love you, Lilly."

Closing the gap between them, the neko embraced her mate, saying "And I love you, Iya."

Releasing his mate, the dog hanyou quietly left the hut and picked up the two large pieces of the halberd that had once been his son's sword. With the two pieces in hand, he took off running in the direction of northwest at a steady pace and face set with resolve.


	10. Chapter 10: Repairs and Healing

**Hello once again everyone. Life has been fun the last two weeks. At work, our project is coming to a close, and thankfully, I've completed all my tasks early. Heh, it's kind of shocking to me that this is the case, seeing how I'm usually the one lagging behind, hehe. Anyways, I finished my tasks, so I got a new set, which I finished within a day or two. Now I'm looking for more work, again, lol. I got some yesterday, but apparently that task had magically fixed itself, so I'm back to square one once more. At any rate, our project ends on the 11****th**** this month, so good times are ahead. Last night, I went and saw my grandparents. My one uncle from Tennessee was in, which was cool, though he's a bit of a long winded talker, lol. I enjoy talking with him though, seeing how he's a former programmer. I also got to see my sister and her fiancé last night too, and we all had a pretty good time. Poor grandpa though, he seemed to be out of it last night. He was talking about building a house and selling it, then about other odds and ends, things that he isn't capable of doing anymore. Other than that, life seems to be the same for the most part. My mate and I are talking about buying a house this spring so we don't have to pay rent any longer. Rent is the most expensive thing we have to pay, but we could be buy a house cheaper than what we pay, so we're going to look into it. I'm somewhat excited about that prospect, but my mate is super happy about it, hehe. I don't know why, but she is. Heh, kind of strange to see her so excited about something like that I guess.**

**Writing wise, things are coming about nicely. I'm currently working on a two part one-shot for Yugioh GX called **_**Second Best**_**, which should be done in the next few days. I'll probably post it either next week or the week after. It's just a little something I whipped up when I got to being nostalgic about dueling. As for this story, things are fine with it. There are three more chapters after this one more than likely, so things are coming to an end I suppose. This story should be done posting in December, right before Christmas. What I'll do afterwards, well, that's somewhat undecided/decided. Lol, very informative, aren't I?**

**Moving along, time once more for the reviews!**

**Espada Zero: LOL! Always with Ichigo when I hear from you, hehe. He's alive and around somewhere… Lol, soap opera moments? Eh, I guess you're right about that really, in a way. Heh, the plot has morphed so much, I can't really say anymore, hehe. Yes, the Bleach manga is intense at the moment, and seems to only get even more so with each issue. Thanks for the review!**

**Kattana: Thanks about the fight. Heh, it was quite fun to write. Yeah, Iya didn't kill Yukio, but I doubt he would leave Lilly that unprotected. I'm sure he's sure enough that she can take care of herself, plus they're all three injured to top things off, so it's not like they're going to fight her most likely. True, Yukio may listen to reason once he realizes what Iya and Lilly have done for him, but who knows. After all, he was taught to hate him by Kaia, so it stands to reason that nearly three hundred years of hatred can't be washed away by one single act. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: West Virginia is the same as always, lol. Not much changes here, other than the seasons and shades of rust on the cards, hehe. Kidding of course. Cool about breaking up your writer's block. That plagues me from time to time, which makes things frustrating, especially when you're trying your best to post in a timely manner. Did you like G-Gundam? I really enjoyed watching it when it used to be on TV, plus I began watching it again on YouTube, which was a lot of fun and brought back a lot of fond memories. I heard good things about Escaflowne, but never took the time to watch all of it. It went off the air when I was a kid, which was disappointing in itself. I just haven't had the time to watch it on YouTube, yet. Heh, glad you liked the fight. Well, the reasoning to why Iya wasn't as tired as his son is kind of simple. In his human form, he was spent, but when he reverted back to his hanyou form, his energy was kind of replenished. So in essence, he got a bit of a pick me up that kept him going. Meanwhile, Yukio had been in hanyou form all night and had to use up a good bit of power fighting not only Iya, but Lilly and Uryu as well. That took it's toll, so when Iya returned to his hanyou form, Yukio was just outclassed due that he had not the reserves to keep up with his father. Did that help explain it for you? True, Iya was not aggressive with Yukio once he had the upper hand. He had no reason to, plus he wanted to end it peacefully with his son submitting to him. Yeah, Iya did do the one thing he wished to do, which was keep his son alive, though that did take a bit of skill to do so. Very true about breaking the chains of hatred. Yep, it's probably better than those two hanyous and the three demons stay outside of the village, seeing how they reacted badly in **_**Another**_** to Iya, Ichigo, and Lilly's (hanyou form that is) presence. Heh, yes, good mantra, hehe. Ah yes, Uryu is fine, for the most part. Iya does need Ketsaiga fixed, but it seems he's off to have it fixed. Eh, Inuyasha did far more damage to Tetsusaiga than Iya has to Ketsaiga, hehe. Inuyasha had his sword in pieces, not with just a chunk of it missing like Iya's sword is. Glad you really enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the review!**

**Well, that's it for the reviews. Thanks to all three of you for them. I know I say this each time, but I do really appreciate them. It's kind of inspiration for me to keep doing what I'm doing, seeing how everyone for the most part likes what I'm doing at this point, though some want to know where Ichigo is, hehe. Just picking, naturally. But seriously, I really do enjoy reading what everyone has to say about my story. It makes me believe that what I'm writing is enjoyable, possibly, lol.**

**At any rate, time for me to wrap this up. I hope everyone likes this chapter. A few familiar faces will show up, so for those naysayers that comment that none of the original Inuyasha characters are in here (other than Myoga, who really doesn't count that much, lol), this should settle things. At that, enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

"MY BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF WORK, RUINED!" an old man's voice wailed from within a cave.

Flattening his ears to his head, Iya couldn't help but cringe from the loud voice. Mentally rolling his eyes, he glanced at the old man who cradled his damaged sword in his hands. He had bulged out eyes, a thin patch of gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, a mustache and goatee, wrinkly skin, and long nails. His clothing consisted of a simple green and black striped outfit that fit him loosely.

With tears falling to the ground, the old man glared at the dog hanyou, yelling "I counted on you to not break your sword, unlike those two other brats!"

"I don't think Sesshomaru or Inuyasha would take it very lightly if you called them brats, Master Totosai." Iya evenly responded.

Taken back slightly, Totosai slowly asked "You aren't going to tell them what I said, are you?"

Mentally chuckling, the dog hanyou shook his head, allowing the old man to let out a sigh of relief. Examining the damaged sword once more, he looked carefully at the piece missing out of the blade.

"You must have struck something pretty hard to do that kind of damage."

Nodding in reply with saddened eyes, Iya quietly replied "Yeah, you could say that. Can you fix it, Master Totosai?"

"Of course I can!" Totosai fired back. "It's not too much trouble to mend Ketsaiga. To fix it, I'll need a fang of yours."

"That's not a problem." the dog hanyou nonchalantly replied. Looking at the pieces of the second sword that he had brought with him, he asked "Can you fix this sword also?"

Putting Ketsaiga down, the old man looked at the damaged blade. Picking up both halves, he careful examined each piece.

After a moment of examination, he finally said "This blade is interesting. I can feel the power radiating off of it. Do you know who forged it?"

Shaking his head, the hanyou calmly replied "No, I don't know who forged it, but I know what it was made out of."

Noting hesitation in the dog hanyou, the old man began to ask, only to be cut off by the hanyou speaking once more. "That sword, Fenrir, was forged from the fangs of Byakuya Kuchiki and…"

Feeling his voice slightly break, Iya pushed on, saying "… Kaia Arisawa."

"Kaia!?" Totosai instantly asked in shock, only to note the slight flinch on the face of the hanyou before him. Examining the blade once more, he said "That would explain all of the power it has then. The fangs of Byakuya Kuchiki would be more than enough to make any weapon exceptionally powerful, and then to place the fangs of that hanyou into it too… It's surprising that you want to have it fixed."

"I won't be the one to use it. The one who will is Kaia's son, Yukio."

Gasping once more, the old man looked at the face of the hanyou, who was staring at the ground with sadness seemingly emanating from him. "Is he the one who did the damage to Ketsaiga?"

Meekly nodding, Iya raised his head to stare the old man in the eye. With glassy muddy brown eyes, he weakly said "Yukio is not only Kaia's son, but he is mine as well."

Mulling over the information the dog hanyou had just given him, the old man let out a ragged sigh. "I guess that rat demon was correct then all those years ago."

"Rat demon?"

Nodding in reply, Totosai replied "Yes, you see, back when Kaia first vanished, a rat demon by the name of Ranoldo was captured. He was a traitor to the Northern Lands and happened to be captured by one of the guards who patrolled the Western Stronghold."

"Upon being captured, Ranoldo tried to bargain his way out of his capture by requesting an audience with Lord Inutaisho. Your father granted it to him. At the time, I was visiting the Western Stronghold to inspect Lord Inutaisho's swords, along with Ketsaiga, but your father decided to include me in the meeting."

Pausing for a moment, the old man slowly continued on, saying "Ranoldo begged Lord Inutaisho to not send him back to the Northern Lands for trial, saying he would give him all the information he had on them. Naturally, Lord Inutaisho was uninterested in the info due that the Northern and Western Lands were allies. Still, Ranoldo ranted on, spewing info and rumors, but parts of them were untrue. But then he brought up something that had to do with the Western Lands, which caught the ear of your father."

"He said he had passed a young woman that was leaving the area near the Western Stronghold. He claimed she had the scent of someone with child, and that he determined the scent was that of yours. Lord Inutaisho pondered on the info, but based on the evidence that the rat demon had been giving, it was believed to be another rumor. He decided that Ranoldo would say anything to save himself and sent him back to the Lord of the North for punishment."

Digesting the words of the old man, Iya quietly asked "Why wasn't I told of this?"

Shrugging, Totosai responded evenly with "We thought it was simply a rumor, but I gather that it was true now that you have confirmed it."

"I see…"

Looking at the hanyou, the old man calmly said "Try not to worry about it. No one could have known she was pregnant. She left before anyone even noticed she was gone. You need to let it go and move on."

"I have been trying!" Iya angrily snapped, breaking his normal calm composure. At once, he realized what he had done and muttered "I'm sorry… It just seems like every time I begin to put my past to rest, something unexpectedly comes up, reminding me once more of what I once did to Kaia."

Staring at the ground with downcast eyes, he quietly said "I can't blame Yukio for hating me all these years. Kaia refused to love him the way he deserved to be because his eyes reminded her of mine. It's like she punished him for being my son. And then there is the fact that it was thanks to me that both his mother and guardian were killed."

"You can't blame yourself for something that girl did." Totosai retorted. "She made her choice long ago to leave you and not let you know your son. She was most likely afraid you would take him away."

"But I never would have!" the dog hanyou protested. "If I had known, I would have mated her, even if it wasn't out of love. I would have taken up the duty to protect both of them with my life. I'd have given up everything for her just so we could raise our son."

Dejectedly, he muttered "Instead, she ran away without a word, leaving me to only wonder why she left."

Letting out a small sigh, the old man shook his head, saying "You hanyous take everything so personally."

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Iya demanded.

"If ever something happens to any of you where the situation looks like your fault, you decide that you cannot be forgiven for it. What you and your younger brother seem to not understand is mistakes are made, but it's what you do about those mistakes that defines you."

Taking in the words of the old man, the dog hanyou couldn't help but smile and let out a soft chuckle. "I suppose you're right, Master Totosai."

"Of course I am! I've been around forever you young whippersnapper, so I know what I'm talking about here."

Reaching over to pull out a pair of long handled pliers, he looked at the hanyou and calmly asked "Can you open your mouth and go 'ah'?"

Frowning, Iya asked "You mean like this? Ah!"

A loud yell of pain soon filled the air outside the cave, along with the sound of a heavy thump.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Releasing a heavy sigh while staring at the slow moving stream from the waterside dock, Lilly couldn't help but feel an aching in her heart for her mate's return. He had only been gone for a few hours, but she longed to be held in his comforting arms that seemed to always shelter her from any harm.

Closing her eyes, she allowed the memories of an only an hour before to slowly replay in her mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearing footsteps approaching the hut she sat in, the neko hanyou stepped outside to find the elder Quincy leading her parents and her cousin towards the hut. Smiling, she began walking towards them, but quickly noted the tension in her parents' faces.

"Momma, Poppa, it's me, Lilly."

Staring into the emerald eyes of the neko, the older woman stepped forward slightly, asking "Is it really you?"

Nodding, the neko stepped closer towards the woman. Reaching out and grasping her mother's hand, Lilly held it gently, saying "Momma, it is really me. I may look somewhat different on the outside, but inside, I am still the same as I always have been."

Letting go of her daughter's hand, Miralla gently reached her hand up and carefully placed it onto the neko's cheek. Still staring deep into the emerald eyes of the hanyou, the older woman softly smiled and suddenly reached forward, embracing her daughter into a tight hug.

"It is you, Lilly!" Miralla quietly commented while holding her daughter tightly and softly stroking her hair.

Enjoying the feeling of her mother stroking her hair, Lilly felt hot tears start spilling down her cheeks as she returned the embrace. Picking up the scent of her mother's tears, the neko pulled back to look her mother full in the face. Both softly smiled at one another and let out a relaxed chuckle.

Smile suddenly vanishing, the older woman quietly whispered "I'm so sorry for that day all those months ago, Lilly… We thought…"

"That is not our daughter, Miralla." Tarja suddenly spoke up, cutting the older woman's sentence off. "Why do you comfort a demon?"

Turning towards the older man, Miralla fiercely replied "Tarja, this is our daughter! I can tell it is, just looking into her eyes. I know this is Lilly, without a doubt in my heart."

Crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the neko, he angrily spat back "That thing is not our daughter. It is an abomination."

"Headman Tarja, you are blind to the truth."

Turning to find it was Uryū who had spoken, the older man snarled out "Don't speak to me in tongues, Master Quincy. I want you to remove that thing from our village. She is not our daughter."

"Don't Tarja!" Miralla called out, only to have her husband turn his back on her and begin to walk off.

"I will not do it, Headman Tarja."

Coming to an abrupt stop, Tarja turned to find a stone faced Quincy staring back at him with hardened eyes. "I command you to do this!"

Not even flinching at the words of the elder man, the Quincy evenly replied "You are acting foolish, Headman Tarja."

Pointing at Lilly with his right hand, he calmly said "I was with her this morning during the battle to protect this village when she transformed back into her hanyou form. That is your daughter for certain, Headman Tarja. You can trust my word."

"As for your command, I have lived in this village since requested by Sai to train him. I live here only to help protect this village and train Sai. However, I do not live here to serve at your whim. I will protect this village always, but never will I harm those I deem not dangerous to this village. Your daughter there, she is no danger to this village, nor is her mate, so I will not force her out."

Casting a glare at the Quincy, the elder man began to reply, only to stop. He glanced at the neko hanyou for a moment, only to find tears streaming down her face while she held his wife.

A moment passed before he said "We are leaving, Miralla."

"But Tarja…"

"Do not argue with me." Tarja firmly commanded.

Bowing her head, Miralla whispered in a voice that only the neko could hear "I am truly sorry, Lilly. I'll try to talk to him. I do love you, no matter what happens."

Mutely nodding, Lilly embraced her mother one last time, before saying "I love you too Momma."

Releasing her mother, the neko watched her walk away with her father, whom didn't spare her a second glance. Looking confused at what to do, Sai finally trailed after the pair, leaving only the neko and Quincy behind.

Feeling overwhelmed by her emotions, the hanyou turned and ran towards the nearby dock, where she went to the end and sank down to the wooden floor and brought her knees up to her chest and began sobbing into them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feeling new tears beginning to form from the pained memory, the neko swished her tail behind herself while staring out at the water. It was clear and slow moving, seemingly just meandering past the village.

"_Iya won't be back for another day..._" she dejectedly muttered in her mind. "_I just wish he was here, so he could hold me and help me through this. He was right all along that my family could never accept me as a hanyou. I am so damn naïve!_"

Burying her head back into her knees, her ears twitched as she picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. Soon enough, the footsteps began crossing the wooden pier and moving towards her, but she made no move to look to see who it was. Sniffing the air, she found the familiar scent of her cousin, but said nothing.

Coming to a stop two feet behind the silent neko hanyou, Sai uneasily shifted his feet for a moment before finally speaking up. "Lilly?"

Not even bothering to lift her head, she quietly asked "Yes, what is it Sai?"

Staring down at his cousin, the Quincy in training moved beside of her, taking a seat so that he was close to her. Glancing at her, he sadly smiled.

"You know he will come around, right?"

Lifting her head to reveal puffy red eyes, the neko softly whispered "I don't think he'll ever accept me."

Silence filled the air for a few long moments before Sai replied "I know he'll realize it's you soon. He's just denying it."

"He'll never come to trust me as I am." Lilly whimpered in a defeated tone. "I managed to get through to Momma, but Poppa just doesn't understand."

Whipping the tears from her eyes, she hugged her knees closer to her chest, saying "I didn't have a choice in becoming a hanyou. That was made by Kenshin Himura. Still, even though he made that choice for me, I did have a chance to become human once more."

Casting an unbelieving glance at his cousin, the Quincy in training asked "Why didn't you then? You could have come home and lived the life you always dreamed of."

"That's just it." the neko wistfully answered with a small smile. "Everything I dreamed of as a little girl and growing up here in the village, none of it seemed to matter anymore. I guess that's due that I fell in love with Iya and I was more than willing to sacrifice those dreams in order to live with him for the rest of my life."

"You've given up so much though." the Quincy in training commented. "Are you truly happy with him?"

Smile widening, the neko nodded her head. "I love Iya with all of my heart and soul, and I know for certain he loves me in return the same way. He has risked his life to protect mine on several occasions and wouldn't hesitate to lay down his life for my own. In turn, I feel the same way and would risk everything to protect him, even if that meant I would lose my own life."

"There is nothing that can change how I feel for him. When I was given the opportunity to become human once more, I thought about doing it, but then I remembered just how much I love him, and how I enjoy being with him as I am. If I became human, I would lose the ability to protect him, and that's not what I wanted."

Letting out a small chuckle, she added "Besides, being hanyou isn't so bad. Most people don't trust me now due that I have demon blood flowing in my veins, but that doesn't mean I'm any less human than I once was. My appearance may have altered, but I am truly the same inside. I'm no less naïve than I once was I suppose."

Softly smiling at his cousin, Sai glanced out at the water. "If you're truly happy the way you are, then I am truly happy for you, cousin."

Turning to see she was staring at him with a similar smile on her face, he added "To be truthful, when you vanished that day with those two, I nearly lost faith that I would ever see you again. I had just lost my master and the village was so unprotected, even with me being there."

"Then I left to find a replacement protector and eventually found Master Uryū. During our training, he taught me to not give up hope. He inspired me to realize that you had to be alive, even if everyone else thought you weren't. I regained my hope that you were."

Reaching out with her clawed hand and placing it on the Quincy in training's one that sat on the dock, the neko hanyou flashed a genuine smile at him. "I never stopped thinking about all of you to be honest. Being with Iya has made the fact that I missed home less painful, but I still wanted to return home and let everyone know I was alive still. I just hate that things turned out the way they did."

Looking back out at the stream, Lilly softly said "I just wish that I could convince Poppa of who I am."

"He'll come around, Lilly." Sai answered with a reassurance in his voice.

Casting a small smile at her cousin, the neko nodded. Noticing he was staring at her with curious eyes, she asked "What?"

Blushing slightly, the Quincy in training softly replied "Well, uh… Does it feel strange to have those ears on your head and that tail?"

Giggling innocently, the hanyou reached up to the top of her head and gently rubbed the soft appendages. "To be honest, I've gotten rather used to them. You should have seen me when I first became a hanyou though."

Pausing for a moment, she smiled once more, saying "Why don't I tell you about my experiences in learning to be a hanyou."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stepping back out of the hut, the neko hanyou inhaled the cool air of the day. It was nearly midday and the sun was hanging in the sky at it's highest point. Moving away from the doorway of the hut and to the side of the building, she noted that both Quincy sat in silence. Glancing at the pair, she saw both had their eyes shut and chests slowly rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm.

"_They both did have a rough night, with Uryū especially. His fight must have exhausted him for him to have fallen into such a deep sleep._"

Leaping up onto the roof of the hut quietly, Lilly laid down onto her back and put her hands behind her head. Looking up at the afternoon sky, she couldn't help but softly smile at the passing clouds.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled all the scents around her. Identifying each and every single one, she once more smiled.

"_I've missed this village so much. Even though things haven't gone as well as I had hoped they would, it's just nice to get to come home. I didn't expect anyone to really accept me once I became hanyou, but that doesn't matter. So long as I have Iya, that's all I need._"

Cracking her emerald eyes open, she softly sighed. "_I still wish I could convince my father that I am who I say I am. It hurts knowing he can't accept me for what I've become._"

Shutting her eyes once more, the hanyou took a deep breath and let out a small sigh before reaching out with her senses once more. Inhaling a soft breeze that was coming from the south, she frowned and opened her eyes while slowly sitting up before taking in another deep whiff of the air blowing towards her.

Standing, she began scanning the area to the south of the village for any demonic auras and slowly allowed a small smile to grace her face when she found two familiar ones.

Jumping down to the ground on the side where the two Quincy slept, she glanced at the pair for a moment. Biting her lower lip, she moved to her cousin and lightly shook him. Yawning for a moment, his eyes gradually opened, revealing unfocused dark black orbs.

"Sai, I need to ask you a favor. Can you stay here with those three demons while I go out to meet a few friends that came to help?"

Yawning, the Quincy in training soon had his brows furrowed. "Friends of yours?"

Motioning her head in the direction of south, she replied "Yeah, I just picked up their scents and made sure it was their auras. Both of them helped us defeat The Thirteen, plus they are my brother and sister-in-laws."

Once more yawning, Sai carefully stood up, being careful not to wake his master. "I guess I can, but don't be gone too long."

"Thanks, you're the best Sai." Lilly warmly responded before embracing her cousin in a quick hug.

Pulling back, the neko noted the blush from contact on her cousin's face. Not commenting, she turned and began running in the direction of south.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching the area where the battle between her mate and his son had taken place, Lilly immediately recognized two figures that were taking in the surroundings of the former battlefield. Quickly moving towards them, she noted both looked the same as she remembered from her previous visit.

The first was a female dog hanyou with butt length ebony hair that hung freely, with a black puffy tail sticking out from under her hair. Upon her head were two dog ears that twitched slightly. The young woman wore a pink kimono top and pants with a sword that had a purple braded cloth on the hilt and a purple band on it's sheath.

Next to her, a male dog hanyou, who was down on all fours and sniffing the ground, with long silver hair that reached his butt in length and two silver dog ears on his head. His clothing consisted of a red kimono top and pants with a sword that had a gray cloth wrap that was tattered and sat in a sheath with a single red stripe on it.

"I swear Inuyasha, why must you get down on your hands and knees like that!?"

Casting a glare at the female hanyou, Inuyasha grunted out "Because it helps me pick up the scents of those who have been here, Kagome. Besides, why are you worried? Not like anyone is around here."

Softly chuckling at the pair, the neko noted both looked up immediately at her. Staring at her with warm honey colored eyes, Kagome called out "Lilly!"

Closing the gap, the two soon embraced one another, with each smiling at one another. Releasing each other, the pair watched the male dog hanyou move up beside of them with his hands stuck into the sleeves of his kimono.

Eyeing the neko with his amber colored eyes, he asked "Where is Iya? I take it he's alive since I haven't found his body on the battlefield and you're still alive."

"Inuyasha, don't be so rude!" the female dog hanyou hissed.

Wistfully smiling, Lilly replied "He's still alive, Inuyasha."

Accepting the answer, the male hanyou glanced around the former battlefield before returning his attention to the neko. "I'd be guessing he fought a massive battle with those demons that were chasing after you three."

"Yeah, the three of them caught up with us early this morning. So, Sesshomaru's message got to you, but it seems you're a bit late getting here it seems."

Flicking a glance at his mate, Inuyasha grunted out "Feh, I wanted to come alone, but Kagome decided to join me, even though she shouldn't be here…"

"I have as much a right to come with you as anyone else, Inuyasha!" Kagome firmly declared with fire in her eyes.

"Feh, when you're with child, you're not supposed to go into battle, idiot."

Blinking with confusion, the neko turned to the female dog hanyou, asking "You're pregnant?"

Turning to her sister-in-law, the female dog hanyou nodded her head while allowing a small smile to grace her face. "I just found out this week."

Smiling widely, the neko moved forward and embraced the female dog hanyou tightly, saying "I'm so happy for you."

Pulling away, she once more smiled. In an excited tone, the neko said "I bet Iya will be surprised to find out he's going to be an uncle soon."

"Yeah, yeah, happy day for Iya becoming an uncle." Inuyasha grumbled.

Casting a glare at her mate, Kagome growled out through clenched teeth "Inuyasha…"

Eyes widening, he quickly put his hands up in defense, saying "I didn't mean to make it sound unimportant, I swear…"

"SIT BOY!"

Glowing to life, the prayer beads around the neck of the male hanyou jerked him face first into the ground, causing a small crater to form from the impact. The subduing spell soon wore off, with the dog hanyou jumping up with anger flashing in his eyes. One look at his mate though made him settle and stuff his hands into his sleeves and turn his head away.

Sweat dropping at the exchange that had just happened before her, the neko cleared her throat, saying "Anyways, Iya isn't here at the moment. He left to go see Totosai once the battle was over and I bandaged his wounds."

Frowning at the response of the neko, Inuyasha turned to look at her and asked "Why did he go to see the old man?"

"Ketsaiga was damaged in the battle with the demon that he fought." the neko quietly commented. "Even though it took that much damage, his opponent's sword was cut cleanly in two."

Glancing around, the male hanyou reached up behind his head and began scratching for a moment before asking "Was he hurt very badly?"

Letting out a sigh, the neko glanced at the ground before softly saying "He was somewhat injured, but not very badly. He had a large gash in his shoulder, but nothing that shouldn't heal easily enough."

Hesitating for a moment, she added "The truth of the matter is I think the fight was more damaging emotionally than physically."

"What do you mean by that?" Kagome asked with concern in her voice.

Staring to answer, the neko stopped quickly and shook her head. "I think it's best Iya would explain it."

Brow furrowing, the female dog hanyou quietly nodded her head after a moment. "I guess so."

"By the way, Lilly, do you know anything about this village?"

A faint smile graced the neko's lips as she glanced back in the direction of the village. In a quiet tone, she said "That village, it's where I grew up as a child."

"So that's why you two were out here." Inuyasha commented. "I wondered why he would bother to come this far out."

"I'm sure you two are tired after running this far. Come on, I'll take you to where the others are and you can rest there."

"Others?" Inuyasha and Kagome questioned in unison.

"Yeah, the three demons that attacked the village that were after us are being kept in a hut on the outside of the village."

"Wait, you mean you two didn't kill those three demons!?" Inuyasha questioned in a firm tone.

Shaking her head in a no motion, Lilly calmly replied "We did not kill them. Each of us had our reasons for not doing so."

Turning away and beginning to walk towards the village, the neko called out "Better come along slowpokes or I'll leave you behind."

Glancing at one another for a brief moment, the two dog hanyous began walking after the neko.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quietly chatting amongst themselves back and forth, the three hanyous began to come into sight of the hut where the three demons were secured. Without warning, an arrow of light blue energy came flying towards the ground before the three, but before it could, the male hanyou grabbed both of the female hanyous and leapt backwards a few feet.

Glaring up in the direction from where the arrow came from, the male hanyou found a black haired man with a black bow that had an intricate white design etched into it and a glowing light blue arrow notched.

"Who the fuck do you think you are shooting that arrow at my mate and me!?" Inuyasha snarled.

"Stop it, both of you!" Lilly angrily snapped while stepping before the enraged hanyou and in the path of the Quincy. Taking a calming breath, she smoothly said "Uryū, these are two of my friends who came to help in the fight with those three."

Releasing tension on his bow and dismissing it, the Quincy nodded, but not before falling to one knee. On his knee, he began panting heavily while sweat poured down the sides of his face. Without warning, on his left shoulder, red began to seep through the white bandages.

Seeing the Quincy in pain, the neko ran to the hut in which he stood on and quickly picked him up before he could say a thing. Effortlessly, she jumped back down to the ground and set him onto it.

Ripping open his white top to see the bandages, Lilly growled out "Damn it, you reopened your wounds! Your powers were already waning and you were hurt enough, so why did you have to go and be so reckless once more!?"

Scowling at the neko hanyou, Uryū replied "I woke up when you were getting close, but I sensed those two other demonic auras, so I wasn't sure if they were friend or foe."

"Why didn't Sai tell you what was going on?"

Flinching physically as she began to rip the bandages that covered his left shoulder, the Quincy quietly responded "He was in the hut at the time, checking on those others. There was no time to really think about what was going on. I just simply acted."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the neko only shook her head as she pulled a jar of salve out of her kimono top. Reaching back into her top, she drew out a roll of bandages and a cloth before setting all of them down onto the ground next to her.

"Inuyasha, can you do me a favor and fetch me a bowl of water? There is a bowl over there against the hut."

Staring at the neko's back, the male dog hanyou only crossed his arms and began to give a scathing reply, but before he could, he caught sight of a fierce glare coming from his mate. Grumbling lowly to himself, he walked off towards the hut and picked up the bowl and proceeded towards the nearby stream.

Turning her attention to the Quincy on the ground, Kagome came up beside the neko and asked "Do you mind if I help?"

"No, I'd kind of appreciate it." Lilly commented. Softly chuckling, she added "I'm never been very good at taking care of wounds. Iya had Kiyomi, a silver fox demon, teach me how to bound wounds and treat them while we were at the Western Stronghold, and I had a bit of knowledge before that thanks to my mother. Still, I don't think I do a very good job."

About to respond, the dog hanyou stopped when she heard a rustling sound coming from the hut. A moment passed before the other Quincy stepped out. One look at his master and he immediately came running to his side.

"Master Uryū! What happened!?"

Both hanyous flattened their ears from the loud voice of the Quincy in training. Instantly, he realized what he had done and looked down with embarrassment, mumbling "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright, Sai. Uryū will be fine, if he just rests." Lilly flatly commented. "He decided to get up and reopen his wounds."

Scoffing at the words of the neko, the Quincy laying on the ground turned his head away from the pair of hanyous. "I told you I was concerned when I sensed the two demonic auras approaching the village. If I had known you were safe and not being escorted, I would have just went back to sleep."

"Well, you'll get to sleep now." the neko remarked.

Glancing at the neko, Kagome asked "Lilly, do you mind if I take over?"

Nodding in reply, the neko hanyou moved out of the way as the female dog hanyou began examining the damaged shoulder of the Quincy. Sending pink miko energy into her right hand, she softly touched his shoulder, being careful not to place too much pressure on it.

Feeling the pink energy touching his shoulder, Uryū quietly spoke up, asking "Young woman, your aura, it's that of a demon and a miko. Tell me, how is it that both energies exist within you? I can tell you're hanyou, but at the same time you use miko powers."

"Well, it's kind of a funny story I suppose." the dog hanyou said with a small chuckle ringing in her voice. "You see, back about six months ago, a group of mages known as The Thirteen, attacked myself and my other friends. They transformed all of us into hanyous with some kind of strange spell that would eventually make us slaves to them."

"Just like Lilly was done…" Sai quipped thoughtfully.

Nodding in response, the dog hanyou continued on, saying "Kurama was the mage that cast his spell on me. He changed me into a dog hanyou. With help, we tracked him down and others of The Thirteen and managed to kill them, thus releasing me from becoming a slave. Eventually, I was changed back into a human due to the leader of The Thirteen casting a spell, but thanks to Lilly making an unintentional wish on the Sacred Jewel, I became hanyou once more."

"That still doesn't explain your miko powers." Uryū bluntly remarked.

Slightly chuckling, Kagome nodded in reply. "True, I did kind of skip that part, now didn't I? Well, the reason I have miko powers is that I was a miko, sort of, before I became a hanyou. Ever since we defeated The Thirteen and I was returned to my hanyou form again, I have been training to become a true miko. There is a miko in the village that I live in who is getting a bit old, but she's been a dear friend to me. She agreed to train me in hopes that one day I could succeed her."

Digesting the hanyou's words, the Quincy nodded slightly. Accepting his response, the dog hanyou brow furrowed as she continued to examine his wound. "Your shoulder is in awful shape. What happened to it?"

"In my battle last night, my opponent used a technique that shattered the bone in my left shoulder."

"But I saw you using your left arm when we arrived." Kagome protested. "You even shot an arrow at us with it."

Softly chuckling, the Quincy replied "I was actually using a technique to control my arm like a puppet when I fired that arrow."

Absorbing his words, the dog hanyou nodded her head. Hearing her mate returning, she glanced up to see him not so gently set the bowl of water next to her. With that, he walked off and leapt up onto the roof of the hut and cast his eyes in a different direction while folding his arms over his chest.

Sighing at the behavior of her mate, Kagome returned her attention to the Quincy. A moment passed before she asked "You're a Quincy, aren't you?"

A bit taken back by her sudden words, Uryū responded "Yes, I am, but how did you know I was?"

"I've been studying to be a miko." Kagome reminded. "One thing Kaede taught me was the different types of people using holy powers. There are priests, priestesses, monks, and so on, but there are also special kinds of each. One special kind of priests are the Quincy. She told me that the Quincy can materialize weapons by using just energy in the air around them."

"Your teacher is very knowledgeable."

Smiling, the dog hanyou nodded her head, saying "She is that. I hope one day I can be as good as her."

"I'm sure you will be."

Without warning, the pink glow on Kagome's hand vanished. Reaching for the bowl of water and rag, she dipped the rag into the water and proceeded to begin washing around the wound.

While washing the wound, the dog hanyou calmly said "I'll repair as much damage as I can around your wound, but I can't heal it completely, that much I'm certain of. You may need to find someone who specializes in healing techniques, namely demon mages I would suspect."

"Would Orihime or Tsunade be able to fix the damage?" Lilly chimed in.

Brow furrowing, the dog hanyou quietly replied "I believe one or the other should be able to, but finding them is the issue."

Nodding in reply, the neko added "That's true. I forgot that both haven't been seen in a long time. I only wonder what both of them are doing now that The Thirteen are gone."

"No doubt Tsunade is still with Ryo." Kagome commented.

"Yeah, I figure she is. He seemed to be falling in love with her before those two left our group."

Pausing for a moment, the neko quietly added "I figure Orihime is chasing after Ichigo still yet."

"Probably." the dog hanyou quipped. Finishing with cleansing the wound, she began pouring out her miko powers over the wound, willing it to begin knitting the damaged muscle back together.

"I can heal the damage around your shoulder, but from what I can tell, unless we find you a better healer, you'll never be able to use your shoulder again."

Nodding his head slightly, the Quincy replied "I can live with it as is, I suppose. If I need it, I can use my Ransōtengai."

Speaking up, Lilly added "If I happen to find Orihime or Tsunade, I'll try to get them to come look at your shoulder."

"I'd appreciate that."

Nearly ten minutes passed before the dog hanyou finished her task. At last done, she tried to stand, only to wobble slightly. Quick to react, the neko helped her catch her balance.

"I guess I used more of my power than I thought I had." Kagome sheepishly commented.

Regaining her balance, the dog hanyou and the neko both reached out and helped the Quincy back to his own feet. Once there, the dog hanyou smiled and said "You should keep your left arm in a sling of some kind, that way you won't have it just hanging loosely down by your side."

With that said, she turned away, muttering "I better go check on Mr. Grumpy up there."

Watching the female dog hanyou walk off, Lilly softly smiled while feeling a small pang of sadness within herself. Noting the longing look of the neko, the Quincy softly spoke up, asking "You miss him, don't you?"

Mutely nodding, the neko quietly responded with "It's never the same when I'm separated from him. I guess that's due that we're lifetime mates, or maybe just due to the fact that I love Iya that much. Either one, it's hard to be apart from him for very long."

Letting out a small sigh, she added "You should go rest Uryū. I'm going to go into the hut and check on the others."

"Alright, I suppose I should."

Seeing the Quincy walk over to the side of the hut before them, the neko began moving towards the hut and entered into it.


	11. Chapter 11: Failing Hatred

**Hello everyone! Well, the last few weeks have been hectic. At work, we're finishing up our project, thankfully, and it goes out next week. We're still fixing minor things here and there, but only minor stuff. I think we're pretty good to go, so for now, more testing until next week arrives, in which we'll deploy to production. I'll be glad when it's all done. It hasn't been highly stressful to me like this summer's project, but it's been interesting to see how things kept progressing. Also, we lost our secretary at work, so that should make things interesting. Luckily, our phones have been reconfigured, so when someone calls in, they must dial our extensions if they want one of us individually. Otherwise, it rings for everyone. Hmm, home life is not too bad. My mate and I haven't been doing much honestly other than the usual stuff that I'm sure people don't want specifics on, hehe. We are looking into possibly purchasing a house this spring, which should be good fun. By good fun, I mean a real pain in the ass… But I can't wait somewhat. We won't have to deal with rent any longer, so good times. Lol, I was with my grandfather the other day when he was sleeping and was listening to him and had a hilarious, but sad thought. He sounded like Darth Vader in his sleep, hehe. It was just scary how similar it was that I began chuckling to myself. Don't know why, but I did, lol. Next week should be loads of fun… I say that with such enthusiasm since it is Thanksgiving week, which is chucked full of family visits. I'm going to see my step mom's family Monday, then I get a break Tuesday, Wednesday I see my grandparents, mom, sister, and her fiancé (almost said boyfriend, but that story is entirely different), then Thursday is my dad's family, followed up with possibly my mate's family. I kind of thankful that this year's dinners are not stacked up on top of one another in the same day, although if my sister has any say in it, Thursday may become that way… Speaking of her, she's decided to quit work and go back to college. I don't mind that, but the only thing is, classes don't start till January and she quit in October… It seemed pointless to me to quit that early, especially since she'll need money most likely to get through school. (/sighs\) Plus I've slowly come to realize that the two of us are so very different. Meh, I shouldn't go into it. We're very different in many ways, end of story.**

**Writing wise, things are going well. I managed to squeeze out a two part story for Yugioh GX entitled **_**Second Best**_**. I already put one half of it up and intend to do the other half next week, probably Monday or Tuesday. Other than that, still writing away like always. Ah yes, one important thing. There are only two more chapters left after this one ends, meaning this story ends in December. What will happen after this is done, well, no idea, yet, lol. I'll get back to you all on that.**

**And now, time for reviews!**

**Espada Zero: Thanks. Actually, there is no war between the four lands. Things are somewhat peaceful, other than Iya and Lilly being targeted by The Army of The Thirteen, hehe. The real Kenshin Himura? Ah, a twin you say. Sorry to disappoint, but there are no twins there for The Thirteen. All of them, with exception of Tsunade, are dead. There is no coming back from that, sadly. Unless you have a sword that can revive the dead, but not likely that Sesshomaru will be doing anyone any favors by reviving a threat to his lands, hehe. Thanks for the review!**

**kattana: Yep, congrats to Inuyasha and Kagome. They're well on their way to having children. That should be entertaining, hehe. So true about Inuyasha surviving for so long without a family. Well, he had one, but one that didn't want him for the most part. But at least now he has one and is starting one as well. Good question about what will happen if Sesshomaru meets up. Thanks for the review!**

**Well, that's that. Thanks to both of you for reviewing. I really appreciate it.**

**Anyways, I'm done for this round. Would go on to comment about the reviews, but not this time around. Thanks to both reviewers once more. I hope you all like this new chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

Racing along towards the outskirts of the village up ahead of him in the evening light, Iya allowed a small smile to appear on his weary face. Reaching out with his senses, he picked up the scent and aura of his mate easily, but soon found two other familiar scents and auras mingled in the air near her.

"_That's Inuyasha and Kagome… Hmm, I suppose the message Sesshomaru sent out must have reached them. I only wonder how late there were._" the dog hanyou mused.

Shrugging off his thoughts, the dog hanyou focused his senses on the open area before him. Finally coming into sight of the hut that his mate resided in for the time being, he picked up his pace and soon came to a skidding stop not far from it. Seeing his brother and his mate sitting on the roof while both Quincy sat on the side of the hut, the dog hanyou moved silently towards them.

Standing up, Inuyasha leapt off of the roof and landed gracefully onto the ground before his brother, grunting out "Well, well, you finally showed up."

"You're one to speak of being late." Iya teased.

Stuffing his hands into his kimono's sleeves, the silver haired hanyou muttered "Feh, I couldn't help it. Kagome forced me to bring…"

"Sit boy!"

Watching his brother slam into the ground with a loud thud echoing throughout the area, the black haired dog hanyou shook his head. Leaning down so he was just barely above his brother's head, he whispered "You may want to learn to watch what you say around your pregnant mate, little brother."

Pulling his face out of the dirt, Inuyasha grumbled before grunting out "Feh…"

Hearing his sister-in-law land on the ground nearby, Iya looked up at Kagome and softly smiled. Moving to her, he embraced her, saying "It's good to see you again, Kagome. I see you two have been busy."

Releasing her embrace, the female dog hanyou blushed slightly, mumbling "I suppose we have been."

Picking up the sound of someone moving about within the hut, the black haired dog hanyou couldn't help but smile as his mate stepped out of it. Her emerald eyes instantly lit up at the sight of him, causing her to race towards him and pull him into a tight hug. Burying her head into his chest, she inhaled his scent of woods and cinnamon while holding tightly to him, as if he would vanish.

In a tender tone, he mumbled "I see you missed me."

Looking up at him with shining emerald orbs, the neko snaked her arms around the dog hanyou's neck and crushed her lips against his. Allowing his mate to control the kiss, he felt her emotions flowing through the kiss. A few moments passed before they broke apart with her returning her face to snuggling into his chest. Warmly smiling down at his mate, he inhaled her scent of raspberries before wrapping his arms around her and holding her tighter against his body.

Sensing a bit of distress within his mate, Iya released his embrace of her grudgingly before glancing at his brother and sister-in-law. "Could you two watch those three while we leave for a short time? It won't be long, I promise."

"Whatever." Inuyasha muttered in reply while looking away.

Coming up next to her mate and elbowing him in the ribs, Kagome politely smiled and warmly said "We don't mind. Take as much time as you like."

Nodding in reply, the black haired hanyou smiled back at the pair before scooping his neko mate up into his arms. Getting a small 'eep' of surprise from his mate, the dog hanyou ignored it before taking off towards the outer limits of the village.

Reaching an area where he was sure that there was no one nearby, he came to a stop and gently set his mate down onto her feet. Turning her to look at him, he reached out and carefully cupped her cheek with his clawed hand. Moving forward, he pressed his lips against her soft ones, noting that her emerald eyes fluttered shut before he closed his own muddy brown eyes. Leaning more into the kiss, he asked for permission into her mouth with his tongue rubbing against her lips, which he was given without a moment of hesitation.

Snaking her arms around her mate's neck, the neko slowly felt herself being pressed more firmly against his body. Kissing back against the dog hanyou, Lilly felt herself becoming lost in the sensations that Iya drove up within her mind and body.

Picking up the scent of his mate's arousal, Iya groaned inwardly. "_I don't want to stop, but I know something is wrong with her._"

Slowly, he broke up the kiss before placing his forehead onto the neko's. Both were slightly panting and each had a pink tinge on their cheeks. At last calmed enough, the dog hanyou drew back to look into his mate's emerald eyes.

"Lilly, did something happen while I was gone?"

Casting her eyes down at the ground, the neko pulled away and turned her back to her mate. Taking a few steps, she suddenly came to a stop with her tail twitching slightly before it wrapped itself around her body.

In a quiet voice, she whispered "He hates me."

Frowning at the words, the dog hanyou moved in behind his mate and placed his hands onto her shoulders, asking "Who hates you?"

"My father…" Lilly whimpered. Snapping back around to face her mate with shimmering emerald eyes, she sobbed out "He still doesn't believe that I'm his daughter!"

Staring into the saddened eyes of his mate, the dog hanyou suddenly enveloped his mate into a tight embrace. Placing her head onto his chest, he softly stroked her hair and whispered "I'm so sorry for you to have to go through this again Lilly."

Sobbing for nearly ten minutes, the neko finally quieted and pulled away. Using her kimono sleeve, she wiped away the remainder of her tears. "Look at me, I'm so silly for crying over something you warned me might happen. I was so naïve to believe that my father would accept me when I became hanyou, but I should have known he would never do so. You must think that I'm such a weakling mate."

"Lilly, what did I tell you that night when I let you mark me?"

Looking into her mate's muddy brown eyes, the neko couldn't help but note how intense his gaze was and what it seemed to do to her body. It was like an emotion that put her heart at ease.

"I told you that night that I don't want you to change, that I love you just the way you have always been. True, I warned you that this may happen, but I did so to guard your heart. I never wanted to see you hurt in that way ever again."

Reaching forward and wrapping the neko hanyou into a tight embrace, Iya quietly said "I know you are the only mate I ever want, and that no matter how others view you, you are perfect to me. I don't see signs of weakness when I look at you. I only see the woman I fell in love with who I took to be my mate. It's those qualities in you that make me love you even more."

Pulling back, the dog hanyou noted tears were silently rolling down from his mate's eyes still. Gently, he wiped her tears away with his thumb. "As for you thinking you are naïve, at times, I believe that, but I also think that you see things so much clearer than I ever can. You see things so much better than I do, probably due that I have lived for three-hundred years and have seen the good and the bad that people have within them, yet you can see past that."

Kissing her forehead, he smiled kindly at her, saying "Never lose that trait. It may cause pain from time to time, but it is something that makes you very special."

Smiling back at her mate, the neko hanyou settled her head onto her mate's chest and inhaled his scent. Releasing a contented sigh, she quietly asked "Can we just stay like this for a while?"

"I think the others will be fine."

* * *

An hour later, both the black haired dog hanyou and the neko returned to the hut with the sun just sinking below the horizon. Welcomed back by both Quincy and hanyous, the two mates sat down by the fire that was in their camp. Upon being seated, the two were offered some dinner, which they took. Once consumed, the group sat in silence.

"Iya, Myouga sought us out after leaving you during your battle. Care to explain yourself?" Inuyasha questioned in a firm tone.

Staring into the fire that had been built, the black haired dog hanyou released a heavy sigh. Glancing up at the others, he felt his jaw become clenched and hesitation beginning to fill him.

Without warning, he felt his mate's clawed hand entwine with his own. Casting a sideways glance at her, he saw her looking at him, seemingly trying to encourage him to speak up. Letting out another sigh, the dog hanyou raked his free hand through his hair for a moment before looking across at the others.

"I suppose it's time I told all of you the truth about my past. It's something I'm not one bit proud of, but should be known due to the situation. This all began due to the actions I took when I was only fifteen years old…"

* * *

Finishing his tale, the black haired hanyou glanced from face to face of the group that sat in silence. Noting most of the group's eyes seemed to be swirling with an array of emotions, the dog hanyou awaited the critical words that he figured he would receive.

Speaking up, Kagome softly asked "That hanyou in there then, he is yours and Kaia's son?"

Nodding in response with his ears slightly drooping, Iya quietly responded with "Yes, Yukio is our son. That's why I couldn't bring myself to kill him in our battle and why I asked that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru spare his life…"

"If he had succeeded, I don't know if I could have." Inuyasha bluntly remarked. "I think I understand the anger he feels, but at the same time, to murder your own father with no remorse, that's crossing the line."

Silence enveloped the group once again, with Uryū breaking it. "What do you intend to do about him, Iya?"

Releasing a heavy sigh, the dog hanyou stared down at the fire. With flames reflecting in his saddened muddy brown eyes, he softly muttered "I intend to let him go on his way once he is fully healed."

"You realize he won't quit trying to kill you, right?" the silver haired hanyou pointedly asked. "He'll hunt you down again, and next time, he may take full advantage of your night of weakness. If he does, I doubt you'd survive."

"I know…"

Angered by his brother's sorrow filled words, the silver haired hanyou fired back "Then what the hell are you letting him go for!? You know for certain he'll never stop till you're dead, yet you're fine with it!?"

"Inuyasha, stop it!" Kagome hissed.

Casting an agitated look at his mate, Inuyasha firmly replied "No Kagome, he needs to know what will happen if he stays this course of action!"

Taken back by her mate's words for a moment, the female dog hanyou slowly nodded with concern and worry reflecting in her honey colored eyes.

"Iya, I can't stop you from making this mistake, but I can assure you, if he does succeed one day in killing you, I won't hesitate to do what you could not. I don't care if he's your son or not, I will avenge your death with his own!"

Staring downwards at the ground still, Iya quietly replied "I understand Inuyasha, but I implore you, please, do not take vengeance on him. It's my fault for what happened …"

"I know you feel responsible and guilty for what happened all those years ago, Iya, but you yourself know that it wasn't your fault. It was your demon blood that took over and made the decision to rape Kaia, thus getting her pregnant. You had no control over that situation." Kagome countered.

Gripping her mate's clawed hand tightly, the neko spoke up, saying "Iya, I love you very much, but I agree with them. Yukio will not give up so easily."

Remaining silent for a moment, the black haired dog hanyou released his hold on his mate's hand and proceeded to stand up. "I realize all of you think I'm making a mistake that will eventually cost me my life, but this is the only thing I know to do to atone for the pain I brought Yukio. He may hate me and continue to come after me, but as his father, I can't kill him. I've only known of his existence for the last few days, but in that time, I've learned what it means to have love for your child. Even though he hates me, I still care about him. He is my son, and I can't change my feelings towards him."

Looking up at her mate with saddened emerald eyes, the neko quietly stood up and softly said "I may not agree with your decision, but I will stand by it."

"However," Lilly added in a low tone, "if he endangers your life, I will not hesitate to protect you with by any means necessary."

Nodding slightly, the black haired dog hanyou turned towards his brother, seemingly expecting an answer. Noting that, the silver haired hanyou crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, grunting out "I won't kill him, for now. Should he one day kill you though, don't expect me to take pity on him."

Letting out a small sigh, Iya nodded before saying "I understand."

"Iya, I have one question."

Finding it was the elder Quincy that spoke up, the dog hanyou gave him his full attention. "Do you honestly believe that those three will leave peacefully once they are able to?"

Staring down at the ground for a moment, the black haired dog hanyou slowly said "I want to believe that they'll retreat for the time being. All three had somewhat serious injuries, and though they will be fully healed when they leave, they may wish to retreat and formulate a new plan of attack. My only hope is they'll leave this village be. I don't want any blood spilt. Secretly, I hope that they'll give up on killing me also, but I doubt Yukio will."

"I believe we should be ready for anything that they may try." Sai chimed in. "With you hurt Master Uryū, they may try to take advantage of the situation."

Pushing his glasses back up on his nose with his right hand, Uryū casually replied "I doubt that Sai. Even with me injured, the odds are stacked against them. There are four powerful hanyous here, plus yourself. Besides, I'm not too injured to where I could not fight, so I could be added into that equation. However, I surmise they will most likely wish to leave."

"At any rate, two of them have no weapons any longer. Sanosuke's sword was destroyed while Yukio's was cut in half, but it's being repaired." Iya added after a moment.

"You're unarmed yourself." Inuyasha pointed out.

Sitting back down with his mate at the same time, the dog hanyou chuckled slightly, saying "True, but I'm powerful enough without Ketsaiga to handle myself. I'll only be without it for a few days anyways. Totosai said he would bring it and Fenrir back in three days time."

"Still, you should be careful, Iya." Kagome commented. "Without Ketsaiga, you're in danger of losing control of your demon blood."

Once more chuckling, the black haired dog hanyou shook his head. "I've learned since long ago how to keep my demon blood in check. Yes, Ketsaiga does help me with it, but when I underwent my father's training to learn to use more of my demon powers, I was taught how to control myself without Ketsaiga."

Snorting while crossing his arms, the silver haired hanyou grunted out "Figures you'd have an easier go of it."

"From what I gathered, little brother, your demon blood is much easier for you to control too since you mastered Tetsusaiga, so don't complain."

All of the group couldn't help but chuckle at the expense of the silver haired hanyou, who only glared at his half brother. The laughter soon ended, with the group lapsing into a silence.

Soon enough, the silence was interrupted as all four hanyous' ears began swiveling. Both Quincy were about to ask what they heard when each heard the same sounds. The sight of torch light approaching the small group soon became visible, causing all six to stand and move towards the approaching light.

The entire group soon saw a crowd of what looked like all the male villagers approaching. All of them appeared to be carrying some sort of weapon, whether it be a farming tool or a practical weapon.

Leading the group at the front was Headman Tarja, followed closely by some of the guards who protected the front gates.

The approaching crowd was letting out yells and loud noise, making each of the hanyous pin their ears back to push some of the sound out. Moving before the small group of hanyous instantly were both Quincy.

Holding up his hand to silence the mob of villagers, Uryū called out in a loud and demanding voice "Why are all of you here?"

"To rid our village of those things!" Tarja fiercely fired back. "I asked you to rid us of them, but instead, you allowed more to come into our village and further defile it with their wickedness! Master Quincy, I implore you, rid us of them, or we will do it ourselves."

In a calm and level tone, the elder Quincy replied "And I told you, Headman Tarja, that I will not do so. Both Iya and Lilly Taisho protected this village from outside attackers. I find no fault in either, nor do I find any in the other two hanyous that have come. They simply arrived to help aide in the fight."

"It doesn't matter!" one of the villagers shouted.

"They're nothing but beasts that will kill us all!" another called from the mob.

Without warning, Sai suddenly took a step towards the crowd and yelled "What is wrong with all of you!? Are all of you blinded by your senseless prejudices that you can't see that these four have no desire to hurt any of you!? Two of them put their lives on the line only a few nights ago to protect this village, and yet all of you do nothing but threaten their lives!"

"It was their fault in the first place!" one of the guards beside of Tarja fired back. "They brought those demons here!"

"Stop it, all of you!" a loud voice cried out.

The crowd, along with the opposing group, soon found the figure of Miralla walking over to before the group of hanyous. Turning to face the crowd, she firmly said "Go home, all of you. If our protector, Quincy Master Uryū, trusts all four of these half demons, then so should all of you. No one has questioned his judgment before, and now is not the time to do so."

"Miralla, know your place and get back over here." Tarja barked out.

Hesitating for a moment, the older woman shook her head, saying "I've always stood behind you before, Tarja, because it was my place, but what you and the villagers intend to do to our daughter is not right. You may not believe her, but I do."

Turning to look at the neko hanyou with a small smile, she warmly added "I know this is our daughter. I was blinded by the same fear and prejudices that you and the others are right now all those months ago, but I no longer allow them to bind me. Just staring into her eyes, I know it's her."

Returning her vision to her husband, she hardened her expression. "Master Quincy Uryū has never lied to us before, so I believe him. He told us this is our daughter. I take him at his word, thus I cannot stand behind you and allow this to continue."

Growling lowly, the headman spat out "I will deal with you at home. As for those monsters, they will leave or be killed."

The mob instantly shouted in cheer of the headman's words with some clutching their weapons more tightly. Some trembled with anticipation while others seemed unsure of themselves.

Near the back of the mob, one man carrying a bow drew it back on the arrow he had loaded. Being careful not to reveal himself, he raised the bow so that the trajectory of the arrow would place it within the crowd of hanyous. Drawing back his bow till it was at full strength, he released the arrow, sending it flying into the air towards the small group of unsuspecting hanyous.

Hearing the sound of an arrow whistling through the air, both Iya and Inuyasha looked up, trying to spy the arrow that had been released. Both hanyous' eyes widened when they realized it was nearly to the crowd.

"Watch out for that arrow!" Iya yelled quickly.

Coming down, the arrow was off course for hitting any of the hanyous, but on course towards the unsuspecting older woman who had joined them. Not knowing where the arrow was, the woman frantically tried to find it in the moonlit sky, but to no avail. Her human eyes were just seemingly unable to find the small piece of wood that was sailing towards her.

At the last second, before the arrow could hit her, the neko hanyou jumped before the older woman and protectively shielded the woman with her back to the arrow. The sickening thud of the arrow sinking into the hanyou's back soon filled the air, along with a gasp of pain from her.

Eyes widening, but then slowly beginning to fill with red, the black haired dog hanyou turned towards the crowd and soon found most of it had dispersed away from the man who had shot the arrow. Clenching his hands till his claws dug into his palms and caused them to bleed, the dog hanyou lowly growled and began to move towards the man, only to be stopped by the voice of his mate.

"Don't Iya." Lilly commanded, causing her mate to look at her with eyes that were slightly filling with red. "I'm alright."

Stepping forward and pushing her mate back with a single hand, the neko continued forward a short distance before coming to a stop to stare at the man who had eyes of hatred set upon her. He had short black hair that was pulled into a small ponytail and dark coal eyes. His skin was tanned from where he worked in the fields daily, while his hands had many calluses covering them. His clothing consisted of simple worn out gray cloth that formed both a kimono top and pants.

Locking eyes with the man, Lilly firmly said "I never expected someone like you, Chikao, to do something like this. You seemed to always have such a sense of honor, even when it came to fighting."

Seeing a touch of surprise in the man's eyes, the neko continued on, saying "You knew me when I was a child living here in the village. I'm sure like many of the others in the village, you don't believe that I'm truly Lilly Takashi, but I don't care if you do or not. I will always have the memories of my life in this village, and I have not forgotten what you did for both Sai and myself so many years ago."

"When Sai and I were only seven years old, we were out playing near your fields. I remember it clearly, for on that day, you were out plowing up the ground of your fields and readying them for planting. We were careless and paying no attention, which allowed a demon to sneak out of the forest and come darting after us. It was upon us before either of us could even think of running."

Noting an astounded look in the man's face, she pressed on. "We were both going to die there that day. Two small children against a demon was definitely not a good match up. But instead of dying that day, we were saved by you. You rescued both of us by taking the hit that the demon had attempted to land on both of us. I know you still have the scar from it, where the demon's teeth sank into your skin on your right shoulder. Luckily, you managed to get it off before you lost your shoulder and killed it. Immediately, you checked on the two of us, not caring about your own pain."

"The one thing I remember most from that was what you told us. You told us that no matter what, life was meant to be lived with honor and respect. That was how you had lived your entire life and planed to do so until the day that you died. I still remember those words to this day. Not long after you had spoke them to us, my father had caught up with you and thanked you for protecting both of us."

Hearing the words of the neko, the headman lowered his head slightly. "_No one but Lilly, Sai, Chikao, and myself know of what transpired that day. It would be foolish for a demon to watch our village that long. Then that must mean…_"

Grimacing slightly in pain, Lilly angrily said "Chikao, why you've done something so underhanded, I don't know. It's so unlike you. I can remember several occasions when demons were spotted near your lands, yet you didn't act. You commented that until they caused harm, you would not fight with them."

With angry tears filling up in her eyes, the neko called out in a demanding voice "Why are you fighting without being provoked!? Does just seeing me offend you that much!? I know I'm no longer human and don't look quite the same as I did when I was, but that doesn't mean I'm not the same person on the inside. You taught me that one shouldn't fight unless necessary, nor to kill for the same reason. So tell me, why!"

Dropping his bow to the ground, Chikao stared down at the ground, his mouth seemingly dry and ceased up. Unable to speak, he slowly raised his gaze to look into the neko's emerald eyes, but instantly felt guilt by doing so.

"All of you, return to your homes."

The mob all quickly realized the one that had spoken the words was Tarja. Many left without a word, but a small group of men remained behind, each of them carrying swords and casting angry and hate filled glares at the hanyous.

Angered, one of the men remaining screamed out "What are you doing cowards!? You let the words of a half breed sway you that easily!? We came here to rid ourselves of these vile creatures, so let's do so!"

Unable to sway the people leaving, the man growled and drew his sword out of it's sheath. Without hesitation, he charged towards the neko hanyou, who stood completely still as the man neared her.

Before he could even reach her, a flash of light blue energy struck the top of the hilt of his sword, breaking the tang of the sword off and allowing the blade to fall to the ground effortlessly. Shocked, the man began to speak, only to be cut off by a clawed hand grabbing a hand full of his throat and lifting him up in the air by it.

Squeezing the man's neck so that his claws pricked his skin, Iya darkly said "I should kill you for raising your blade against my mate."

Looking down to find the eyes of the hanyou were nearly completely red with his muddy brown irises changing into a blue-green color, the man tried to scream out, only to find his voice was cut off. He gripped the wrist of the hanyou tightly, trying to break the hold, but to no avail.

Gripping the hilts of their swords, both of the other two dog hanyous began to move towards the dog hanyou holding the man in the air, but each stopped when they saw the man flung away from the black haired hanyou.

"I promised Uryū I wouldn't kill anyone here in the village. Unlike some, I am a man of my word, so you shall live."

Revealing his eyes to the man, Iya showed that they had returned to their normal muddy brown color. Turning away towards his mate, he took a step towards her, only to stop before he glanced over his shoulder with a glare that could pierce anyone. "But if you ever threaten my mate again, you may not be so lucky next time. Now all of you leave."

Getting to his feet and leaving his broken sword behind, the man and his cohorts quickly fled from the area back towards the village. Snorting at this, the black haired hanyou approached his mate and reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Quietly, Iya asked "Are you alright?"

Staring intently at the man who had dropped his bow, the neko meekly nodded before quietly walking towards the man. Reaching him, she sadly smiled at him for a moment.

"You were right, Lilly…"

Barely picking up the words of the man, the neko watched him raise his head with tears filling his eyes. "I taught you those things so long ago, yet here I am, going against the very teachings that you took to heart. I should have known when you showed up all those months ago, claiming you were yourself that it was truly you. We all failed to believe you, yet you hold no hate in your heart against us."

"I could never hate any of you. I do admit, I was angry with most, but my anger was over the frustration that no one would believe me." Lilly commented.

"I should have listened… I just couldn't believe it, that you had come back as a hanyou instead of a human. Like all the others and your parents, I believed a demon killed you and took your clothing and tried to pass herself off as you. That's why… that's why I fired that arrow. I thought… I just thought that if I could avenge your death, then maybe it would make your parents happy again."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he softly said "But even though I wasn't going to hit you, you did the right thing. You protected your mother from harm."

Bowing his head once more, the man hid his face from the neko. Ears perking up, she heard the sounds of something dripping to the ground and the scent of salt in the air. Knowing he was crying, she did the only thing she could think to do.

Suddenly feeling someone reach forward and embrace him, the man looked up to find it was the neko, who was faintly smiling. His saddened eyes brightened slightly, though a few more tears squeezed out.

Breaking apart, Lilly apathetically said "I forgive you for what happened. Just try to remain on the path that you once walked, okay?"

Receiving a nod in reply, the neko watched the man pick up his bow and begin trudging in the direction of the village. With him nearly gone, she turned away, only to find her mate standing there.

"We should get that arrow out of you."

Meekly nodding, the neko turned her back to her mate once more. Gripping the shaft of the arrow tightly, the dog hanyou kept his muddy brown eyes focused on it for a few long moments. At last, he jerked the shaft hard, causing his mate to hiss in pain as the arrow was pulled from her body. Holding it up to look it over, he noted that the head of the arrow was still attached and coated in the crimson life force of his mate. Catching the scent of her metallic smelling blood, he felt his inner demon stir but was quick to quell it.

Snapping the arrow in half, he threw it to the ground and returned his attention to the back of the neko. Seeing a small blot of red forming in the spot where the arrow had been removed, he glanced behind himself at his nearby sister-in-law.

In a calm tone, he asked "Kagome, can you heal her wound? It isn't too bad, but it should be healed up nonetheless."

Agreeing by simply nodding her head, Kagome instantly came over to the back of the neko and reached out to place a palm onto her back. Sliding her honey colored eyes shut, the female dog hanyou called forth her miko energy, causing pink energy to immediately eradiate from her palm. The energy slowly began to fill up the wound, effectively sealing shut the damage and knitting the skin back to how it once appeared.

"That should do it." the female dog hanyou commented as she opened her eyes and the glow on her hand receded.

Turning, Lilly smiled at her sister-in-law, saying "Thank you, Kagome."

Hearing ragged and shallow breaths, the neko scanned the area for the source, but quickly found it. Standing in the spot he had been in earlier was her father, who had his eyes focused on her alone.

All at once, he suddenly fell to his hands and knees as tears began falling from his face to the ground, staining it with the scent of salt. In a sorrow filled tone, he whispered "I can't believe what a fool I've been."

Picking up the words of her father with her sensitive ears, Lilly stared at him for a long moment before quietly padding over to where he had collapsed onto the ground. Falling to her knees gracefully, she noted that he seemed to have picked up on her presence almost instantly.

Looking up at into the face of the neko hanyou, he released more tears and quietly said "I am truly sorry for everything, Lilly… I should never have doubted you, but… but…"

Unable to finish his words, Tarja let his face fall so that he was looking back down at the ground while more tears poured out. Without warning, he suddenly felt a warm hand touch his cheek, forcing him to look up once more to see it was his daughter that was touching him. All at once, the headman felt himself pulled up against his daughter and into a warm embrace.

Holding her father tightly, Lilly released tears of her own that she had been holding back for some time. Listening to her father sob, she quietly said "It's alright Poppa."

For several minutes, the two remained on the ground in an embrace, with Tarja repeating in a whisper "I'm sorry." Most of the group dispersed, giving the family some time to themselves. Sai, Miralla, and Iya, all three remained close by, watching father and daughter seemingly reconcile.

At last, after nearly twenty minutes, the two released one another, each with tears still staining their faces. Together, they stood up, with the headman suddenly wrapping his daughter in another tight embrace.

Releasing the neko after a few more moments, he stared into her emerald eyes and sadly smiled. "Can you ever forgive this old fool?"

"Poppa, it's alright." Lilly tenderly said.

Reaching out and taking hold of her hand, Tarja brought it up and kissed it. Glancing over at the three waiting figures, he returned his vision to his daughter before saying "I missed so many months of your life because I was such a fool. For that, I am truly sorry my daughter. I never should have doubted you."

"It's alright." the neko commented. "We have time to catch up now."

Nodding, the headman and neko walked back towards the other three. Once there, the headman looked at the black haired dog hanyou for a few long moments. In a hesitant, but calm tone, he said "Thank you for protecting my daughter."

Remaining silent, Iya bore his muddy brown eyes into the coal colored eyes. Sensing no ill intent within them or in the man's scent, the dog hanyou grunted out "Hn."

Accepting the response, the headman returned his attention to his daughter. "Come Lilly, let us go home."

"I can't …"

Cutting off his mate, Iya softly spoke up, saying "Go ahead with them."

Looking to her mate with surprise, she saw him flash a small smile at her. Remaining silent for a few long moments, she finally nodded in reply. Once she had, she walked over to him and pecked his lips.

In a whisper so low that only his sensitive ears could hear her, the neko said "I'll be back later tonight."

"And I'll be waiting." the dog hanyou whispered in return.

Stepping away from her mate, the neko returned to her family. A moment passed before all four left the lone hanyou.


	12. Chapter 12: Reminiscing

**Hello everyone! Well, the last two weeks sure have been exciting, I suppose. Let's see, last week was Thanksgiving week, which was packed full of fun and excitement, plus food. Too much food to be specific, lol. It began with a Thanksgiving dinner at church on Sunday, but that day wasn't over. My mate's mom had chest pains and went to the hospital where they live, who got it under control, but decided to ship her to another hospital due to her past heart issues. We didn't find out until my mate had went to work that afternoon and was checking her cell phone voicemail before work. She immediately decided we were going since it sounded serious, so she got someone to cover for her and came home, where we left and went to see her mom. Her mom was alright… Apparently, my mate's aunt had convinced her mom to go to this other hospital. So, she was down there for really no reason, other than to make sure she was fine, I suppose. She spent the night in the hospital and didn't see a single doctor while there. I don't blame her for getting aggravated, because she asked my mate to take her back home. Of course, the doctor naturally said wait a few more hours for her to circle around, who was supposed to look in on my mate's mom the night before, if not that morning. No such luck, so my mate's mom checked out and my mate took her home. That brings us to Monday, lol. My mate and I had lunch with my mom, which was fun since we rarely get to. That evening, after my mate returned from taking her mom home, we went out to my dad's home where my step mom's family was having Thanksgiving. Round two on the dinner week wasn't too bad. We had fun for the most part, other than the three bratty children that my step mom's family brought in. Two are step cousins (I don't know what to call them, lol), with a third being a second cousin, I guess. Anyways, they were romping around and making a lot of noise, which sucked. However, I did get to meet my step brother's girlfriend, who was rather nice to talk with. We did eventually play a game with the adults later called Apples to Apples, which was hilarious, but so sad at the same time because I couldn't predict how people think, lol. It was a good time overall. Wednesday of last week, we went in for round 3 of the meals, which was with my mom's side of the family at my grandmother's home. It was really nice to get to see my sister and her fiancé, plus mom, granny, and pap. All were doing well, and it seemed like grandpa was going to sit at the table, but he decided against it after a while, saying he'd rather stay in bed, so stay in bed he did. We ended up playing Trivia Pursuit in the end, with all six of us forming teams of 2. My mate and I were on one team, my mom and granny on another, and my sister and her fiancé on a third. In the end, mom and granny had the most wedges when we had to leave, but only by one! And then there was T-day… That was Thanksgiving day for those who didn't know, lol. It was at my dad's house, with my dad's side of the family. It was a really good time, with the men kind of separating afterwards and going downstairs to play cards, which was loads of fun. Too bad my partners and I didn't have much luck, lol. Not much else happened after that, though I got sick Friday night. I had had a sore throat during the day, and then that night, I began getting the chills, indicating a fever. It only got worse Saturday, but faired up some on Sunday. I've still got it though… I don't have any flu symptoms, thankfully, seeing how this is just a little cold. Still, it's aggravating… My poor mate, I hate it for her, since she has to listen to me cough at night in my sleep. Luckily, it is getting better, and I should be back to full capacity soon, I hope…**

**Moving along, onto how my writing is going. It is going rather well, with this being the next to last chapter. I'm sure everyone is curious about what I'm going to do after this story is over, and well, I'll reveal what I plan to do next time.**

**And now it's reviews time!**

**Espada Zero: Heh, I knew you'd be asking about Ichigo again. Don't worry, we'll get to him here soon enough, so be patient. As for the Army of The Thirteen, well, at the moment, only three members are present, so as for more trouble, that depends I guess. Heh, arrancar, eh? At any rate, thanks for the review!**

**kattana: Glad you're happy for Lilly. Yeah, hopefully Iya and Yukio can finally connect, though that will be interesting to see if it happens. True, family is always important. Lol, yeah, same for Iya and Sesshomaru. Thanks for the review!**

**The Rainwalker: It's cool. I actually meant to email you recently, but I just never got around to it. I know, I'm horrible, lol, but that's how my mind goes at times. It's cool about not being able to read or whatever. Things happen. Heh, Iya's mistakes though were far worse I'm sure, though he never did seem to recover from them. In a lot of ways, I identify with him in that sense, seeing how I did constantly blame myself over certain things in my past, but with due time, you learn to deal with it. Ah, sounds like you got some good games. I need to finish Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen sometime or another. I dawned on me that I did the Autobot side, but never the Decepticon, lol. Anyways, cool about the Heroes of Might and Magic V. Well, Kagome has always been a miko technically, just not a trained one. She has since the end of **_**Another**_** learned more about her powers thanks to Kaede. Yes, she is a hanyou due to a wish that Lilly made at the end of **_**Another**_** (actually, she was a hanyou before that, but was returned to her human form. In the end, a wish changed her back again. You should read **_**Another**_** to see what happened really). Yep, Kagome and Inuyasha are expecting a kid. Lol, I think many shutter at the thought of what their kid will be like. Never know, their child may be well behaved, unlike Inuyasha, hehe. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about Tarja seemingly crossing the line by bringing a mob to kick the hanyous out. Things could have turned very ugly there if all 4 hanyous hadn't of shown such great restraint. Yes, I believe all of them knew better than to do anything to hurt the villagers. Lol, yeah, it took a lot for the people of the village, plus Tarja himself, to wake up and realize the truth at long last that Lilly was who she said she was. Yep, Lilly and her family are finally back together, with things seemingly calming down at long last. Thanks for your review!**

**Thank you, all three of you, for your reviews. They were most appreciated. Hopefully all of you will continue to enjoy this story till the very end.**

**At any rate, time for me to be running, so here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12**

Walking quietly up to the hut before him, Iya came to a stop when he spotted both Quincy before it. Taking note of him, the Quincy with glasses slid them back up onto his nose with his right hand before standing.

"I take it you wish to enter?" Uryū questioned.

Receiving a nod as his response, the elder Quincy moved to the door and held his hand over a strip of paper with numerous seals on it that was on the door frame. It glowed with a light blue aura for a moment before a shimmering light blue barrier that covered the door frame suddenly appeared. In a flash, the barrier faded away, allowing entrance into the hut.

"Thanks." was the only thing the dog hanyou muttered before walking in, prompting the Quincy to run his hand over the piece of paper once more, causing the barrier to return.

Inside, Iya came to the back room of the hut quickly to find his sister-in-law preparing to leave the room. Like the Quincy, she waved her hand over a piece of paper that was on the door frame with her right hand, which glowed with a light pink aura. A barrier in the door frame of the room materialized instantly, but quickly dissipated into nothingness. Taking note of the male hanyou, she smiled at him before stepping out of the room.

"Good morning Iya. Sleep well?" Kagome warmly asked.

Nodding in reply, Iya quietly asked "Is there any change in him?"

Releasing a small sigh, the female hanyou shook her head before turning to look at the white haired dog hanyou that slept on the futon within the small back room. "No, no change. I've healed all of his injuries, so he's fine for the most part. Still, it'll take a day or two for him to regain all of his strength once he wakes."

Mutely nodding, the male hanyou asked "Can you seal me within there with him? I wish to stay with him for a while."

"I suppose, but you'll have to call for Uryū, Sai, or me to come get you out."

"Yeah, I know, your seals won't let anyone in or out without one of your three's energy." the male hanyou commented. Glancing at the ground for a moment, he quietly added "I don't mind that."

Glancing into the male hanyou's muddy brown eyes, the female hanyou noted a mixture of swirling emotions, but decided against bringing it up. "Go ahead on in and I'll seal the room off."

"Thank you, Kagome."

With that, the male hanyou stepped into the back room. Turning to watch the female hanyou complete the task of sealing the room, he watched her proceed to release the seal around the doorway to the outside before leaving the hut and finally vanishing completely.

Returning his attention to the slumbering dog hanyou before himself, Iya sat down onto his knees next to the futon. Staring at the sleeping hanyou, the black haired hanyou couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt course through him.

"_He's like this because of what I did to him in our fight. I'm certain I didn't hurt him too badly, but still, to see him like this, it hurts. I did the only thing I could think of to stop him from harming anyone else._"

Inwardly sighing, the black haired hanyou inhaled the scent of the white haired dog hanyou, finding it to resemble the scent of fresh cut cedar. Categorizing it into his list of scents that he memorized to identify others, he stared over the prone figure of his son.

"_Only figures his hair color would be similar to my father and brothers._" Iya mused. "_Yet he got both mine and my mother's eyes._"

Frowning upon realizing this, the dog hanyou couldn't help but let his ears droop. Memories of his past immediately began pouring into his mind, namely of the day that his entire life changed.

"I was such a fool back then. If I had only known what a demon heat was and what to do about one, I'd have been more prepared and known to stay away from your mother. Instead, I was nothing more than a child who knew nothing on it and that caused more pain than any wound ever could."

Feeling his eyes slowly filling up with tears, the dog hanyou reached up and used the sleeve of his kimono to wipe them away. Once more finding himself staring at his son, he couldn't help but allow a sad smile to etch across his face.

Shaking his head while still wearing his smile, he whispered "I'm such an idiot. It's probably better you didn't know me just so you wouldn't have to deal with how I am."

Remaining silent for a few minutes, Iya asked aloud "I wonder if Kaia ever told you about herself when she was growing up? Did she tell you what she was like, who she knew, or what her friends were like?"

Making a decision, the black haired hanyou quietly said "Doubtful that she did. I suppose the least I could do is tell you about her past. After all, no one but Sesshomaru and myself are still alive that knew her back then. It's unlikely you could ever get my stubborn older brother to tell you about someone he barely knew anything about."

"I met your mother, Kaia, about two-hundred-ninety-five years ago. We were both only five when we met for the first time. Our meeting was purely by chance coincidentally. I was out with my father, walking the grounds of the Western Stronghold when we ran into a small human girl. She had bumped into me to be completely honest. Kaia's mother, your grandmother, soon showed up and profusely apologized for Kaia running into me."

"I was unfazed by it all, but couldn't help but notice your mother didn't seem to shy away from me like all the other human and demon children did. Instead, she seemed interested in me, namely with my dog ears. Without any thought, she had asked to touch them, in which your grandmother admonished her for it. But to everyone's surprise, I let her touch them and enjoyed feeling her fingers run over them."

Pausing for a moment, Iya weakly smiled before continuing on. "Not long after that, we found one another again and soon became fast friends with one another. We constantly played together around the Western Stronghold, enjoying games with one another and others."

Noting his eyes were tearing up once again, the dog hanyou made no move to dry them. "Back in those days, the two of us were very close. In all honesty, your mother, she was my best friend. Unlike so many others, she never judged me based on my looks. She always thought that I was just like anyone else and didn't care that I was a hanyou. None of that mattered to her. She only saw me as a friend, nothing more."

Feeling tears starting to roll down his cheeks, the black haired hanyou weakly smiled while closing his eyes momentarily. Reopening them, he quietly said "I was so happy back then, as was Kaia. We did everything together and no one could break us apart."

"I must sound like such an idiot, sitting here, crying over something from so long ago." Iya sadly commented. "It's just, back then, my life was so much easier. I had no worries on my mind, I was innocent and naïve. Perhaps that's why I love my mate so very much. Even though she is rather naïve on many things, it's a quality that I've come to appreciate. I can never be like that again due to all of the things I have endured, but if she can do so without losing her ideals, that in itself would make me happy."

Staring at the rising and falling of his son's chest, the dog hanyou lowered his eyes beneath the shadows of his bangs. "Then I destroyed everything that I held so precious to me. Life seems so cruel that it could allow someone who knows nothing of their own powers to do so much damage."

"It's my fault for that night I was with your mother. I should have made her leave sooner or sent her for help, not allow her to remain and stay in danger. When I realized something was wrong, it was too late and she suffered for it. I simply waited too long to send her away."

Smashing his hand into the floorboard of the hut, he felt the structure shake slightly but paid no heed. "Because of me, your mother lost her innocence. I didn't blame her one bit for not ever trusting me after that, even for coming to hate me. She needed me the most once we had returned home, but I was afraid."

"I was afraid to go to her, to comfort her. I knew she needed me more than ever, but the raw pain I felt from the guilt of knowing what I had done kept me from it. Instead of helping her or even talking to her, I hid myself from her like the coward I was. I…"

Feeling his voice breaking, the dog hanyou gathered his words and pushed onwards, saying "I just thought that if I faded away from her and let her live her life, maybe, her heart would mend and the pain I had inflicted upon her would slowly heal and vanish. But instead, forcing myself away from her made her pain greater and her anger and hatred for me increase to the point that she could no longer stand to acknowledge me."

"If I had known of your existence, I would have given up everything to care for both your mother and you, Yukio. Even if that meant I was banished from the Western Lands, I would have done so. I wouldn't have cared if I was stripped of my title as an heir to the West. There is nothing I wouldn't have done for Kaia. She was my best friend, and back then I wouldn't have hesitated to mate with her so we could raise you."

"But because I evaded her so much, I didn't find out. Possibly that's why she left, knowing I wouldn't notice her missing for some time to come, thus giving her the ability to escape without saying a word." the dog hanyou commented.

Remaining silent for a moment, he then added "Regardless, she fled, thus deciding to not let me know about you. If she had told me, I would have done anything for her. I'd have mated with her if she had allowed it, or found some way to protect both of you."

Reaching up and wiping his eyes with his sleeve once more, the dog hanyou released a heavy sigh before quietly saying "But none of that matters now. What is done is done. No matter how desperately I wish to change my past, I cannot. Time marches onwards, meaning that I must as well. As bad as I want to change things, I cannot do so. I can only try to make the future better for both of us."

"I don't know what it holds for both of us, but if you're willing to let me, I'll try to be a proper father for you."

Sadly smiling, Iya muttered "Kind of sad really, you're all grown up and here I am trying to enter your life as a father. I wouldn't blame you if you completely rejected my wishes."

Gripping his pants legs, the dog hanyou allowed another feigning smile to cross his lips. "It's all kind of pathetic of me to tell you these things while you're still sleeping. I guess once you wake up, I'll have to gather up the courage to do this again and tell you once more, though I doubt you'll listen. I can't really blame you, for not knowing whether to trust me or not."

"Still, I won't give up on you. No matter what, you are my only son at the moment, and I will never forget about you. In these last few days, I've felt what it's like to be a father, to know what mine went through when he was alive. No matter what, in my heart, you will always be loved by me, Yukio. Nothing you do or say can stop that."

Rising, the dog hanyou stared down at the sleeping white haired hanyou. Once more wearing a weak smile, he softly whispered "I love you, son."

With that said, Iya called out in a loud voice "Kagome, Sai, or Uryū, can you come let me out?"

A minute passed before the elder Quincy walked into the hut and released the seal that contained the two hanyous within the back room. Walking out, the dog hanyou cast one last glance at his son while the Quincy reactivated the seal to the barrier. After removing the seal around the doorway to the hut, the pair went outside, not noting before leaving that a pair of muddy brown eyes watched them as they went on their way.

* * *

Viewing the evening sun sinking into the horizon, Lilly couldn't help but slightly frown at it. Staring at the back of her sister-in-law, she waited patiently as she unsealed the doorway of the hut in which the three incomplete demons laid in.

Finishing up, the pair entered into the hut, only to have both softly gasping when they saw all three of the occupants were laying on their backs awake. Each instantly picked up a set of nearby cups that were full of water and began moving towards the rooms of each.

Knowing the neko couldn't enter a room on her own, the female dog hanyou asked "Lilly, which room are you going to go into first?"

Looking between the three, the neko quietly murmured "Yukio's."

Feeling the tension in her friend, Kagome hesitated for a moment, but noted that Lilly did seem to wish to see the white haired hanyou. Inwardly sighing, the female dog hanyou moved forward and released the seal holding the white haired dog hanyou captive, allowing the neko to walk in wordlessly.

Resealing the room off, Kagome firmly said "If you need anything, yell. I'll hurry to you."

"I'll be fine." Lilly tightly remarked.

Deciding to not argue, the female dog hanyou nodded and moved on towards the battle demon's room. Noting she was alone, the neko moved forward and gently lowered herself to her knees next to the white haired dog hanyou.

"Would you like some water?"

Receiving no response, the neko set the cup down, but noted the dog hanyou had tracked her movements with his muddy brown eyes. "_Not willing to talk, yet very aware of what's going on._"

Moving closer, she pulled his covers downwards, only to have them snatched from her and pulled back up to cover his neck. Growling lightly, she saw him turn his head away and heard him faintly say "Leave me be."

"I need to check your wounds to make sure they're fully healed." Lilly firmly stated. Again reaching for the covers and slowly pulling them down, she let out a light growl when she felt him yank them back up to his neck. "Acting like a child will not make me leave. If you won't let me do this, I'll restrain you to do so. It's your choice, Yukio."

Seeing he was deciding, the neko patiently waited till finally the dog hanyou released a heavy sigh and released his hold on the blanket. Inwardly grinning at her victory, the neko hanyou pulled the covers down to just above his torso, exposing his bare chest. Running her hand over the bandages that covered his shoulder, she carefully cut them off, revealing that the wound that had been healing slowly the day before was now completely gone. This was due in part of her sister-in-law's healing powers, plus the white haired dog hanyou's own recuperative powers.

"It looks like your wound has healed over nicely. You should be able enough to get up and do whatever tomorrow. I'd advise you to take it easy for the remainder of today and tonight. That should help your body completely recuperate."

Receiving no response, the neko slightly sighed at the stubbornness of the white haired hanyou, who refused to even look at her. Feeling an overwhelming urge to simply grab a fist full of hair of the sulking hanyou, the neko closed her eyes and forced her mind to quell itself.

"Why did he let me live?"

Waking from her thoughts, Lilly glanced down to see the white haired hanyou was had half turned to face her, giving a glint of his muddy brown eyes. "_Eyes so similar in coloring to his father's, yet hold such different emotions._"

"Well?" Yukio pressed.

Waking from her thoughts, the neko hanyou looked down at her knees, but slowly raised her head up to gaze into the muddy brown eyes of the one who had asked the question. In a smooth, but calm tone, she replied "He let you live because he had no desire to kill you."

Grunting softly, the dog hanyou resumed his turned away position, muttering "Such foolishness will earn him death in the end."

Growling at the words she had heard, the neko suddenly reached forward and took hold of a fist full of the dog hanyou's white hair, causing him to yelp out in pain. Gripping it tightly and drawing him into a sitting position, the neko flashed angry emerald orbs in front of the surprised male hanyou.

"You're lucky your father loved you enough to not slay you for what you have done! He had every right to end your life, yet he chose not to due that you are his son."

Letting out a feral growl, Yukio grit out "Release me wench before I lop off your head!"

Throwing his head down against the pillow he had been laying on, the neko let go of her hold while glaring at the dog hanyou with smoldering anger still filling her emerald eyes. In a snarl, she grit out "You are nothing but an ungrateful pup."

Before he could respond, the neko went on, saying "Do you not even realize how much pain your father is in!? The memory of that night he harmed you mother has haunted him for the last two-hundred-eighty-five years. He blames himself for what happened that night, though it wasn't really his fault! No one could have predicted that his demon blood was strong enough to sustain a demon heat. Very few hanyous can do such a thing, and he's one of them. He's done nothing but remember the pain of what he did during all of these years. Neither you nor your mother understood just how much that incident hurt him."

"Ever since that time, he has been plagued by his memories of that day, along with tortuous nightmares that leave him waking in the middle of the night covered in sweat and with tears in his eyes. Iya can never escape what he did, no matter how much he wishes to."

Pulling back and releasing a heavy sigh while gripping the hem of her battle skirt, the neko willed herself to calm her anger. Calmed after a minute, she quietly said "I was the last person to see Kaia alive, and I saw what kind of person she was then. Iya had told me at one time what she was like in the past, and how close they were. When I met her in our final confrontation, she was nowhere near the same as he had described to me. The person I met that day was filled with anger, sorrow, and a burning hatred. She had nothing on her mind other than the thought of killing Iya. Kaia wanted nothing more than your father's death."

"I can never truly understand the depths of sorrow that both yourself and your mother suffered through. Still, I cannot allow someone to threaten my mate in such a manner. Iya has paid for his mistakes over the last few centuries. Because of that one incident, his entire life changed. He lost so much of himself in that incident, along with your mother. Still, rather than dwell on it his entire life, he has tried to correct his past mistake by doing anything and everything he could to atone for it. The raw pain from his past memories still remains in his mind, but yet he is trying to do something good rather than focus solely on it."

"Your mother on the other hand, she did not learn to move past what happened. True, I can never know how she felt, but at the same time, I cannot agree with what she did. She neglected and punished her firstborn son for something he had nothing to do with. Yukio, what happened between Kaia and Iya was not your fault. It was something that should never have happened to you, yet it did. Just because you look like one parent gives no one the right to punish you for what that parent did."

Pausing for a moment, the neko looked down at the white haired dog hanyou longingly for a few moments before saying "Yukio, I don't want to see what happened to your mother happen to you also. Though I killed her, I sympathized with her at the same time. She did not learn to let go of the pain from the past. Instead, she held onto it and clung to it for comfort, thinking that by killing your father she would rid herself of all the anger and hatred she had within herself. I think she was wrong. Killing the one who wronged you would do nothing. It would instead leave you with a void that could never be filled."

Placing a gentle hand onto his shoulder, Lilly softly said "I don't want the same thing to happen to you. I can already see the same signs in you that your mother had. She lived for vengeance against your father. In the end, that is what led to her downfall. Kaia was too wrapped up in her anger and hatred for Iya that she didn't concentrate on her fight with me, which is what brought her death upon her in the end."

Biting her lower lip and accidentally pricking her lip so that blood flowed out, the neko added in a small voice "I could never replace your mother, I know that much. To even think such a thing is laughable. But that is beside the point, being which that I ask you to give up your hope for vengeance on your father. Don't walk down the same path that your mother did. Only sadness and pain remain ahead if you continue to trail her. I cannot think of a worse fate that could befall Iya. Losing someone he once called a dear friend was hard enough, but to lose his son also would be devastating. So please, give up on it."

Waiting for a response, the neko sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity till she finally heard the white haired hanyou quietly say "Leave me be."

"Think about what I said, at the very least." Lilly commented before standing and walking towards the barrier covering the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she softly added "Not many people get a chance to know those they knew nothing of. You should make the best of what you have been given."

Cracking a feigning smile, she said "You never know, you may find that you share more in common with Iya than you originally thought. And who knows, in due time, the two of you may come to like one another."

With those words said, she called out to the female dog hanyou, who happened to be just coming out of the other room. Once she had sealed up the other room, the female dog hanyou released the barrier containing the neko, allowing her to walk out. Upon resealing the room, the dog hanyou escorted the neko to the doorway that left the hut and released the seals keeping her in.

Once he was certain the neko was gone, the white haired hanyou sat up and greedily drank down the water she had left him. Finishing off it's contents, he laid back down onto his back and stared up at the ceiling of the hut. Closing his eyes, the hanyou felt sleep overtake him not long afterwards while the words of the neko echoed throughout his mind.

* * *

Noting her mate was missing, the neko let out a heavy sigh as she took refuge in a tree on the outside of the village. "_Ever since he's returned, it's like he's trying to avoid me for the most part._"

Standing up from her sitting position, the black haired neko lifted her nose up into the air, attempting to find a small trace of her mate. Picking up a faint whiff of his scent, Lilly instantly leapt from tree to tree in pursuit of her evasive mate. Finding the scent getting slightly stronger, she continued to trail it, hoping that she would soon find him.

After an hour of tracking through his usual false trails that were made for when he normally wished to be left alone, the neko finally spotted her mate sitting in a tree top. Leaping up onto the branch he sat on, she padded towards him along the branch and took a seat not far from him.

Glancing over at his mate, the dog hanyou inwardly sighed. She wasn't looking at him directly, but he knew she had caught his glance.

"Mate, why do you do this to yourself?"

Snapping his head over to look at the neko, the dog hanyou saw his mate was still looking out into the distance, but noted how her face reflected sadness. Before he could respond, she continued on.

"Will you never truly share with me the burden that you feel is still on your shoulders?"

Unable to look at his mate any longer, Iya quietly replied "I don't want to trouble you with my problems. It's enough that I carry it around, but to bury you in it also would be too much."

Feeling his mate's hand suddenly grab his own gently, he chanced a look to find she was sadly smiling at him. "Iya, you once told me that being mates means sharing the good and the bad times with one another. That no matter what happened before or after you became mates, that both will always share one another's joy and sadness. So tell me, why do you continue to shoulder this pain by yourself? Do you think I'm not strong enough of a mate to share the load?"

Inwardly growling at himself when he felt a pang of guilt course through him, the dog hanyou softly said "You are by far stronger than anyone else I have ever known. And I've told you before, it doesn't matter to me how strong you are physically or skill wise."

Scooting closer and reaching out and cupping her cheek gently, the male hanyou added "I often ponder why Kami ever blessed me to have such a wonderful mate. My life has been riddled with pain and death, yet he showed me kindness in allowing me to be with you for the remainder of my life. Never think you are not strong enough, for you are always the one I desire in my heart and no other."

Immediately feeling her cheeks warm with a pink tinge, the neko relaxed into his touch while her eyes fluttered shut. Inhaling his scent of cinnamon and woods deeply, the female hanyou felt it's reassurance comfort her.

Smiling at his mate's actions, the dog hanyou moved forward and pressed his lips gently against hers. Tasting them, he pulled his mate's scent of raspberries into himself, allowing it to calm his thoughts instantly. Deepening the kiss, he asked for permission into her mouth, which she obliged.

For a few minutes, the pair did nothing but kiss till finally the pair broke apart. Resting their foreheads against one another, the dog hanyou opened his muddy brown eyes to stare into the emerald ones of his mate.

"Lilly, you are the most important person in my life. No matter what happens, I will always love you with all of my heart."

Resting her head back against her mate's, the neko quietly replied "And you are the most important person in my life to me. Nothing can separate us, not even death."

Pulling back, she added solemnly "However, I want you to let me help you with whatever is troubling you. When you suffer, know that in some ways, I suffer as much. I don't want you to have to bear that kind of pain by yourself. Share it with me, even if it's just a little bit at a time. I just want you to be happy."

Sadly smiling for a moment, the dog hanyou nodded slightly before softly saying "I will try to from now on."

Eyeing her mate with a mischievous look, the neko asked "So, will you tell me what is wrong, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

* * *

Sitting on the roof of the hut that housed all three demons with his eyes shut and arms behind his head while enjoying the warmth of the evening sun, Inuyasha slowly cracked his eyes open and swiveled his ears. Hearing a strange mooing sound, he sat up just as lightning suddenly struck the ground not far away from the hut, causing dust and smoke to fill the air.

Noting the older Quincy was on guard instantly, the silver haired hanyou leapt from the roof to the ground with Tetsusaiga drawn and transformed. Sniffing the air, he picked up a familiar scent and grunted out "He's with us."

Casting a small glance at the hanyou, the Quincy nodded and returned to his position beside of the doorway to the hut.

Returning his sword to it's sheath, the red clothed hanyou pushed his hands in the ends of his sleeves and padded forward as the dust began to settle. The dust soon vanished, revealing an elderly man in a green stripped kimono sitting upon a three eyed cow.

"Ah, Inuyasha, you're here I see."

"What are you doing here, Totosai?" Inuyasha gruffly questioned.

Frowning, Totosai waved him off, saying "No need to be rude. I just came to deliver Iya's swords that he brought to me for repairs."

Glancing around, the old man scratched the top of his head, asking "Where is he anyways?"

"He vanished a few hours ago into the forest. Lilly went after him not too long ago."

"What are they doing out there?"

Feeling his temper rising, the dog hanyou growled out "How the fuck would I know, Totosai!?"

Shrugging, the old man bantered back "They could be having se…"

Before the old man could finish his sentence, he received a mighty smack to the back of the head from the hanyou, knocking him off of his cow. A nice large lump instantly formed with the old man touching it gingerly and cringing in pain.

"Inuyasha, sit boy!"

Instantly, the prayer beads around the dog hanyou's neck glowed to life and dragged him face first into the ground, creating a small crater. He soon was out of it and glaring in the direction of the hut, where his mate was walking out and had her hands planted on her hips and a glare on her face.

"You shouldn't be so rough with Totosai." Kagome firmly stated.

In a yell, the silver haired hanyou fired back "Stop doing that! Besides, that old bastard was thinking like a pervert."

"I would never do such a thing." Totosai chimed in with an innocent tone in his voice. Turning away from the group, he added "I think I'll go into the woods and find them."

"Hell no you're not!" Inuyasha commanded as he leapt before the old man. "You're staying right here till they get back!"

Frowning, the elder man asked in a clueless voice "Where was I going?"

Throwing his arms up into the air, the silver haired hanyou stalked over to the old man and gripped a fist full of his shirt and growled out "Damn it Totosai, quit screwing with me!"

"That's disgusting. I would never so such a thing with you. I prefer women just so you know."

Enraged even further, the hanyou drew back his free arm and fisted his hand quickly. Before he could deliver a knockout blow to the old man, his ears picked up a loud yell "Sit boy!"

Slamming to the ground once more, but not before letting go of the old man, Inuyasha groaned. A few moments passed before the subduing spell wore off, allowing him to get up and spit dirt out of his mouth. Throwing a harsh glare at his mate, he ground out "Kagome…"

"Don't take that tone with me, Inuyasha." Kagome shot back in a clipped tone. "You were going to hurt Totosai for no reason. He can't help it if his memory is a bit short."

"Could you all yell a little louder? I don't think the next village over could hear you."

Finding the source of the voice belonging to that of his brother, Inuyasha simply jammed his hands into his sleeves, muttering "Keh."

Shaking his head, Iya, whose hand was entwined with his mate's, approached the group, only to find the elder man looking at him. Separating his hand from the neko's, he moved before the old man.

"Good to see you once more, Master Totosai." the black haired dog hanyou curtly said.

Nodding in reply, the elder man moved back over to where the three eyed cow stood. Reaching up and loosing up the two swords that were tied to it's back, the old man pulled both swords off and expectedly looked at the black haired dog hanyou. Moving up beside of the old man, the hanyou received his repaired sword in hand.

"Ketsaiga is completely repaired and sharpened once more. Do try not to break it. I can understand that thunderhead Inuyasha for breaking his sword, but not you."

Lightly chuckling at the sound of his half brother's deep growl, Iya nodded, saying "I'll try not to damage it again."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Totosai handed the second sword over. "I repaired this blade to the state it once was in. It is quite a remarkable sword."

"Thank you for fixing it, Totosai." the dog hanyou quipped. With one hand, he easily placed Ketsaiga within his obi. "How much do I owe you?"

Waving off the dog hanyou, the old man commented "You owe me nothing, pup. Your father commissioned me to build him three swords, so maintenance is under that commission. Even that other sword you asked me to fix, I ask nothing in return for it. To work on a masterpiece like that was more than payment for me."

"Very well, thank you once more Totosai."

Glancing over at the other hanyous, the old man asked "While I am here, would anyone like their sword's sharpened? I'll even do yours first if you want, Inuyasha."

Thinking for a moment, the silver haired dog hanyou let out a heavy sigh before drawing his sword and sheath out of his obi and moving towards the elder man. Reaching him, he handed over his sword, which was immediately drawn from it's sheath by the older man.

Finishing his thorough examination of the sword, Totosai commented "Well, your sword isn't as damaged as usual. That's good to know."

The elder man's comment immediately earned him a smack to the back of the head by the hot headed silver haired hanyou. A lump instantly formed in the spot from the impact with the hanyou turning away and muttering to himself in an inaudible voice.

Sighing at her mate's actions, the Kagome drew her own sword out of her belt. Walking over to the elder demon, she handed it over, saying "I'm sorry about him, Totosai. I don't know why he's being such a pain tonight."

"It's alright, I've come to expect it from that pup." Totsai commented with a smile. Taking hold of the sword, he pulled the blade from it's sheath and examined it for a moment before sheathing it once more. "You have taken excellent care of Hikari, Kagome. It's good to see another of my creations is undamaged."

Flashing a fanged smile, the hanyou replied "It's been an excellent sword. I look forward to getting it back."

Watching the dog hanyou walk off after her mate, the neko stepped forward and handed over her own sword. Doing exactly what he had with Kagome, Totosai drew the sword from it's sheath and eyed the blade before once more placing it back into the sheath.

"It seems Kimi is in perfect condition as well, Lilly. It makes me happy that at least you two young women seem to be able to take care of your blades."

Hearing her mate grunt in irritation, the neko couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Bowing to the older demon, Lilly curtly replied "Thanks."

Setting down all three blades, the old sword smith walked back over to the side of the large three eyed cow and picked up his dropped hammer. Returning, he set to work in sharpening all three blades.


	13. Chapter 13: Letting Go

**Hello once again everyone. Life sure is fun, lol. I have a business trip tomorrow, however, it is my mate's birthday also… Yeah, I didn't realize that when we scheduled the trip, so silly me. She's taking it well though, although she hates that I'll be gone, much like myself. I hate being away from home, but it's just one night away, luckily. Anyways, work is really starting to irritate me. Our current project has a review this Friday, and I seem to be lagging behind due to several issues that have arisen during this small sprint. To add to this irritation is a few trivial things that have been spoken about on how we did certain things. Meh, just not been a fun last week or two I suppose, lol.**

**Writing wise, this is the last chapter for Reunion. I'm sure some of you are sad, some who are happy, and some who just don't care, lol. Anyways, read the bottom of the chapter for details on what will happen after this story.**

**Review time!**

**The Rainwalker: I'm feeling much better now since last time, so thanks. Heh, not too surprising with that cold weather there. We've had snow here twice thus far this year, with a few frigid days, but nothing too bad. Good luck with saving up for the next Sakura-con. Yep, Iya and Lilly have both talked with Yukio, with Lilly seemingly maybe getting some results. Yeah, Iya really has had a rough life, with him being unable to control himself with Kaia, then his many years of traveling to kill The Thirteen. At least he seems to be somewhat on the mend. Thanks about the knack for things, hehe. True, Yukio does have a lot to think about, what with Iya and Lilly both talking to him. Heh, yeah, Inuyasha just can't catch a break anymore. Actually, Miroku and Sango were in my previous story, **_**Another**_**. They both were turned half demon as well as Kagome, Lilly, Kohaku, and Rin. However, only Lilly and Kagome are half demon still yet, with Sango and Miroku returning to normal near the end of **_**Another**_**. At any rate, Sango was pregnant when that story ended, and her and Miroku were staying in Kaede's village. You should check out **_**Another**_** to find out what you missed, hehe. Anyways, I'll try to get back in touch with you sometime soon. Just been way too busy to have time to. Thanks for the review!**

**Kattana: Yeah, Lilly did a good job in being a step mom. Heh, my mate mentioned something about Lilly being Yukio's step mom. She's like the hot new mom who is far younger than Yukio, lol. Yukio is 285 years old, while Lilly is merely 16. Big difference, hehe. But yes, she seems to be able to handle Yukio. True, Yukio is acting more like his uncle Inuyasha than anyone else. Lilly is handling things well because she understands that Iya didn't intentionally hide a child from her. He didn't even know, lol. Yeah, it was heart wrenching for Iya to tell his son that story, without a doubt. Hopefully Yukio will accept his father and try to get along, but you never know about that hanyou. Thanks for the review!**

**Thank you both for your reviews. It's you two, plus Espada Zero, that really kept me motivated throughout this story. I am slightly disappointed this story didn't catch on as much as **_**Another**_**, but that's just me I suppose. I still had fun writing this story regardless, and if it only was liked by a few people, then at least it was liked, lol.**

**Anyways, I'm done for now. Do check at the end of the story for what I plan on doing. I think the ending of this story will tell everyone what is happening, hehe. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13**

Picking up the sound of footsteps approaching, ones that he determined instantly as his sister-in-law's, the black haired dog hanyou turned his head away from the sight of the slow moving stream. Standing up onto the dock, he saw Kagome moving towards him with a small smile on her face.

"Enjoying the chance to relax?"

Allowing a small smile to form on his own face at the question he was asked, Iya smoothly replied "Just a bit, I suppose. I'm so used to traveling after all these years that it's kind of odd to stay in one place for so long."

"I sort of know the feeling." the female dog hanyou commented. "Inuyasha, Shippou, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and I all six traveled together for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality we only traveled for five years. Sometimes I miss it, I suppose. Just being on the move all the time and not really stopping was interesting, but at the same time kind of trying since I had to return home often. Now that we no longer do so, it's kind of strange."

Once more smiling, the male hanyou nodded his head, saying "I understand what you mean. Living at the Western Stronghold is so different. I had forgotten how very different it was from being on my own."

Pausing for a moment, the male hanyou's brow furrowed before he slowly asked "How are those three doing?"

Pursing her lips, the female hanyou feigned a smile. "They're all three completely healed up. They are strong enough to leave at any time."

"I figured as much." Iya dejectedly commented while turning his back to his sister-in-law.

Feeling a clawed hand land on his shoulder, the male hanyou glanced back to see worry reflecting within the female hanyou's honey colored eyes. "Iya, are you going to be alright?"

Turning around to face the female hanyou, the male hanyou flashed a weak smile. "I don't know what to do Kagome."

Sitting down onto the dock and crossing his legs, the male hanyou's ears drooped as he dropped his head into his hands. Taking a deep breath, he raised his head and looked out at the stream.

"I'm afraid of what will happen when he leaves. In my heart, I hope and pray that he'll decide to no longer wish to try and kill me, and it's my deepest desire that we can attempt to get to know one another."

Shifting his head so that his eyes were covered by the shadow of his bangs, the hanyou added in a sad tone "But I'm afraid that instead, he'll try to come after my life again, and that in the end, I'll one day have to kill him."

Kneeling down behind her brother-in-law, Kagome gently pulled Iya into a warm embrace and squeezed him softly. "I know you'll do the right thing, Iya. All you can do is what you feel in your heart. Don't give up hope."

"I don't want to, but I'm afraid he'll reject me."

Lightly chuckling, the female hanyou shook her head, saying "You are so much like your younger brother."

"How so?"

"Inuyasha was worried his entire life about people rejecting him. When he finally found Kikyou, she didn't reject him on queue. Instead, she somewhat accepted him. In the end though, the two of them were separated by Naraku's evil scheme, thus sealing him to the Sacred Tree and sending her into the afterlife."

Pausing for a moment, she soon continued on. "Fifty years passed before I was pulled through the Bone Eater's Well and discovered Inuyasha. When I first saw him, I thought he was so handsome and looked heavenly. Of course, I woke him up not long after that and released him from the tree. At first, we never got along. But slowly, over time, he began trusting me and the same for me with him. I was never really afraid of him, though he did scare me with death threats at the very beginning, but even then, I wasn't too worried for some reason. Anyways, he was always on the lookout for rejection from me and others. But I could never reject him. Even when he asked me to mate with him, I knew that fear was in him still yet. We've been mated for a little over six months and I think that he's finally realized that I love him without a doubt in my mind. He knows that I won't reject him like others may have in the past."

"What I'm trying to say is, don't be afraid of rejection. If Yukio does reject you, don't lose hope in him. There may come a day when he realizes just how much you care for him."

Releasing her hold and scooting around to look the male hanyou in the eye, Kagome once more smiled and said "After all, you are his one and only father. Though he says he hates you, I think deep down he knows how much you care for him. Just give it time. I'm sure it all will work out."

Digesting his sister-in-law's words, the male hanyou slightly nodded his head. "Thank you, Kagome. You are wise beyond your years."

Smirking, the female hanyou replied "If only you could convince my mate of that."

"You know you have him wrapped around your finger, especially since you are pregnant." Iya slyly remarked.

Blushing slightly, Kagome wagged her finger at the male hanyou, saying "It's comments like that that make me believe the two of you are brothers."

Reaching out and gripping her finger, Iya smirked as Kagome's eyes widened slightly. "I take it that makes you reminiscent?"

Feeling her finger being released, the female hanyou once more blushed and abruptly stood up. Folding her arms over her chest and huffing, she grunted out "Men…"

Standing himself, the male hanyou lightly chuckled, saying "Sorry about that. I just remembered something Inuyasha had told me once. I didn't mean to upset you, if I did."

Turning around, the male hanyou backed up slightly to find the female hanyou with her tongue stuck out and making a childish face. Unable to contain his laughter, the male hanyou returned the favor and made a childish face himself. The pair soon broke out into fits of laughter, with each finishing with a smile on their faces.

"We should get back."

Nodding, Iya once more smiled, saying in a kind voice "Thanks Kagome."

"You're welcome. Now come on, we have things to do before we let those three go."

* * *

Ripping off the final seal to the doorway of the hut, Uryū called out "You three can come on out."

One by one, the three incomplete demons stepped out into the late afternoon air, each in silence. All three seemed to take in a deep breath, expressing their happiness to be out of the hut they had shared. Regaining their focus, each eyed the group of four hanyous and two humans with different emotions running through their eyes.

Scowling at the black haired dog hanyou that stood slightly in front of the group, Yukio stepped forward towards him. Spotting his sword, he eyed it momentarily before bringing his vision back to the male hanyou. Coming to a stop with only five feet between the two of them, the white haired hanyou stared into the muddy brown eyes of his captor, but remained silent.

Drawing the halberd out of the ground, Iya took a few steps forward towards his son with the blade still facing downwards. Stopping only a foot before the white haired hanyou, he slid his hand down the hilt a bit and offered the sword to Yukio.

Staring at the blade being offered to him for a few long moments, Yukio finally spoke up, saying "Fenrir was destroyed in our fight."

"It was, but I had it repaired."

Reaching out and taking hold of the hilt and pulling the sword away from the black haired dog hanyou, the white haired hanyou held it before his body and ran his eyes over the sword's blade. "It is different."

Nodding in reply, Iya weakly smiled. "To repair it, the sword smith, Totosai, needed a fang of mine. I guess now you have a fang of three different people in that blade."

Not saying anything, Yukio swung the sword in a quick arc through the air, seemingly testing it out. Finished, he reached up and pulled the two blades that formed the halberd apart and placed them into the slots that were just above his rear. Once done, he bore his muddy brown eyes into the eyes of the black haired hanyou.

Silence filled the air for what felt like an eternity to the group but in reality was only a mere two minutes. At last, the white haired hanyou broke the silence, solemnly saying "I can never forgive you for what you did to my mother all those years ago."

"I understand." Iya quietly responded while his ears drooped slightly and he turned his gaze towards the ground.

Taking in a sharp breath and closing his eyes, Yukio said "However, I no longer wish to kill you either."

Looking up instantly, the black haired hanyou saw his son reopen his eyes slowly with what looked like a hint of sadness within them. Before he could say anything, the white haired dog hanyou began talking once more.

"Hanyous are not meant to have demon heats, yet some do suffer from them. I am one of those hanyous who do not suffer from them, yet you do. In some ways, I can never understand why you did what you did, nor do I wish to either. Still, to continue seeking vengeance against you would be pointless. I've come to understand you a little, and I believe that you did not willingly harm my mother. Your demon blood did those horrible things to her and made her the way she was before her death."

Staring Iya in the eye, Yukio added "Perhaps that is why I no longer hate you the way I did when I first encountered you. Because of that, I find myself no longer able to desire to kill you, so I will no longer hunt you."

"But Yukio, he…"

"Be quiet, Sanosuke." the white haired hanyou hissed, effectively silencing the incomplete battle demon. Returning his full attention to the black haired hanyou, he smoothly said "I think it is time that The Army of The Thirteen ended it's quest to take your life. Lord Byakuya is gone, and once more, I believe he was wrong now."

Turning towards the two incomplete demons behind himself, the white haired hanyou faced the incomplete battle demon, saying "Sanosuke, I am resigning my commission as leader of The Army of The Thirteen. I will not be returning with the two of you, so effectively immediately, you are in command."

"I do ask one last favor of you though. Do not take up the quest that we began again. I honestly believe no good will come of fighting with those that defeated the members of The Thirteen. To continue down such a path would only get more of our comrades killed."

Looking away from the white haired hanyou, Sanosuke crossed his arms over his chest and grunted out "You know the council will never accept that decision. Even though I am technically the leader of them now, they will not agree to that."

"Try to convince them." Yukio pressed. "That is all I ask. If they cannot be swayed, so be it."

Letting out a ragged sigh, the incomplete battle demon returned his line of sight to his white haired comrade and softly replied "I'll try my best."

Slightly bowing, the white haired hanyou smoothly said "Thank you, Sanosuke."

"Where will you go, Yukio?"

Whirling around to find it was the black haired hanyou who had asked the question, Yukio quietly responded with "I'm unsure right now."

"You could come home with Lilly and me to the Western Stronghold."

Shaking his head, the white haired hanyou evenly said "No, I decline. "

A bit hurt by the response, Iya hid the hurt and remarked "I see."

"In that case, why not stay here?"

Looking to see the elder Quincy walking up beside of his father, the white haired hanyou began to respond, only to be cut off by Uryū.

"This village could use another person to help protect it and build up it's defenses. Since my left arm no longer functions on it's own, that puts us at a disadvantage. We could always use another person besides Sai and myself to help keep this village safe."

Remaining silent for a moment, the white haired hanyou slowly asked "What is the catch?"

"No catch." Uryū commented while pushing his glasses back up onto his nose. "You are free to come and go as you please. If you find you don't wish to remain here, you can leave. No one will keep you here against your will. I only ask that you help us in protecting this village. That is all that will be asked upon you. The rest that you do is voluntary."

Digesting the words of the Quincy for a few moments, Yukio calmly said "Very well then, I will stay here, for now."

"Hn."

Returning his attention to the two incomplete demons, the white haired hanyou coolly said "You two should get going. It will take you quite a few days to return home."

Mutely nodding, Sanosuke walked forward till he was right before the white haired hanyou. Reaching out, he offered his hand, which the hanyou took and shook.

"I'll do my best to lead the village."

"I know you will." the white haired hanyou remarked.

Moving aside, the incomplete battle demon watched the incomplete hybrid demon move before their comrade. The two stood in complete silence for a moment before the hybrid demon allowed a small smile to appear on his face.

"You're serious on this, aren't you, Yukio?" Kenji questioned.

Receiving a nod in reply, the hybrid demon offered his hand to the hanyou. The two shook hands, with the hybrid demon saying "Take care, Yukio."

With their words spoken, both incomplete demons began walking away from the group and towards the wood line. Soon enough, the pair vanished into it, leaving behind the group of hanyous and two Quincy.

"Quincy, can you take me to where I will be staying?"

Breaking away from the retreating figures, Uryū noted the white haired hanyou's eyes were focused on him. Nodding in agreement, the Quincy said "Follow me and we'll find you some quarters."

Bowing slightly to the group to excuse himself, the white haired hanyou followed after the Quincy, leaving the group to themselves.

* * *

"WIND SCAR!"

"Wind Slash!"

Slamming into one another was a set of two white demonic energy blasts, the first being in the shape of a claw and the other a single beam. The two ground against one another for a few long moments before dispersing and sending dust flying into the air.

With the dust settling, the figures of two dog hanyous staring one another down appeared, with one, a silver haired one, lightly panting. Each held a halberd in their hands and both had looks of determination on their faces.

Slightly smirking, Iya spoke up, saying "You've improved, Inuyasha."

"Feh, I have a long way to go yet."

Shaking his head while softly chuckling, the black haired hanyou replied "That may still be true, but you have to admit, you're much stronger than when we last sparred."

Releasing the transformed state of his halberd back into it's normal rusty state and sheathing it, the silver haired hanyou grunted out "I guess."

"I'm not just saying that to put you on, Inuyasha." Iya commented as he sheathed his own sword. "You really have improved since last time. I'm impressed."

Folding his arms over his chest, the silver haired hanyou nonchalantly said "Kagome and I have been training quite a bit in the recent months. That'll come to an end since she's pregnant."

Letting out a soft sigh, the silver haired hanyou turned away and let his shoulders slump slightly. "I can hardly believe she's pregnant."

"Scared?" the black haired hanyou teased.

Receiving no answer, the black haired hanyou approached his brother and noted how quiet he was. Moving before him, he saw his face etched into a deep scowl.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just, I'm…" Inuyasha began, only to shake his head roughly and grunted out "Feh, forget it."

Suddenly feeling a set of clawed hands land on his shoulders, the silver haired hanyou found himself confronted by the face of his brother. "Inuyasha, talk with me."

About to snap back a comment, the hanyou found himself unable to when he saw the concern and worry in his half brother's eyes. Taking a deep breath, the silver haired hanyou lowly said "I'm worried about becoming a father. I never knew our father, other than tales I heard about him and that one time I saw him when Sesshomaru and I defeated the Sounga. How am I going to become a father when I never had one to learn from?"

Relaxing his hands on his brother's shoulders, the black haired hanyou weakly smiled, asking "Is that all you're worried about?"

Noting his brother was ready to snap back, Iya continued on, saying "Inuyasha, though you didn't know father, I see a lot of him within you. True, you are probably rougher around the edges than he was, but you are very similar also. You have the same sense of justice and desire in your heart to make things right. And I can see also the love that you hold for Kagome. Without a doubt in my mind, you'll make a great father. Just do the best that you can do. That is all anyone could ask for."

"I suppose."

Releasing his hold on his brother, the black haired hanyou stepped back and began walking away before hearing his younger brother ask "What about you?"

Watching his brother turn back towards him, Inuyasha asked "What do you intend to do about Yukio?"

Staring down at the ground for a few moments, Iya quietly replied "I don't know. I intend to try and visit him from time to time, like every few months. Lilly still wishes to visit her family on a more consistent basis, so while we're here, maybe I can see him."

"Do you think he meant what he said earlier? About not hating you any longer?" the silver haired hanyou questioned.

Taking a moment to ponder over the question, the black haired hanyou softly said "He wasn't lying earlier. His scent didn't change when he said those words, so either he's exceptionally good at hiding a lie or he was telling the truth. I prefer to think of the later myself."

"I do know one thing for certain. No matter what happens from hence forth, I will not fail him. I care too much to let anything happen to him."

"Figured as much." Inuyasha commented. Glancing up at the setting sun, he let out a small sigh. "Kagome and I need to leave tomorrow, seeing how Sango was close to being ready to have her children before we left. I'm sure Miroku is panicking that we'll not make it back in time."

Slightly chuckling, Iya replied "Yeah, Lilly and I planned on leaving tomorrow also. We need to return to the Western Stronghold. I'm sure Sesshomaru has plenty of questions for me about what happened."

Smirking, the silver haired hanyou smugly said "Good luck with that asshole. He'll probably string you up for this whole thing."

"No doubt he'll blame me, like always." Iya slyly commented. "Come on, we should head back. I'm sure our mates are waiting for us."

"Yeah, better not keep them waiting. Kagome will 'sit' me to hell if I'm late for dinner."

* * *

Panting heavily leaning heavily against his large cleaver blade shaped sword, the sound of blood dripping to the ground from his wound on his right shoulder and forehead irked the orange haired quarter demon. Raising his head to glare at the man not far from him with his brown eyes, the quarter demon let out a low growl and straightened his body. His clothing consisted of a simple black kimono top and pants with a white obi and a red piece of leather that went from his right shoulder to nearly his left hip and looped back around his back.

"Damn it Kisuke, you nearly killed me that time!"

Staring back with an impassive look was a man dressed in a dark green kimono top and pants, with a black obi. Covering his top was a long black coat that reached his knees in length that had white diamond shapes across the bottom of it. On his head, obscuring his eyes with shade, was a green and white stripped bucket hat that covered blonde hair that stuck out the sides. A pair of geta were on his feet, leaving them mostly exposed. In his right hand was a black and silver blade had a dull gold "u" shaped guard, and a hilt that was straight for a while till it curved slightly near the end. On the end of the hilt was a red tassel, while below the guard was a red ribbon.

Taking a few steps towards the angered quarter bobcat with the sound of his geta striking the ground, Kisuke came to a stop and lifted his head up slightly, revealing his dark blue eyes. In a cheery tone and a smile on his face, he said "Ichigo, I would never kill my prize pupil."

"Don't bullshit me, Kisuke!" Ichigo growled. Drawing his sword out of the ground and gripping the white clothed hilt, he pointed his sword towards the blonde haired man.

Smirking a bit, the blonde haired man suddenly vanished into thin air. He soon reappeared before the quarter bobcat, who had seemingly anticipated the attack and parried. Not finished, the blonde haired man pushed off from the quarter demon to a few feet away before digging his blade into the ground. Feeling it firmly in the ground, he used it to turn his body so that he threw himself at the quarter demon feet first.

Unable to block the incoming attack, the quarter bobcat was smacked in the cheek by a wooden geta, sending him sprawling backwards onto the ground. Quick to get up, he barely had time to parry an attack aimed for him.

In a low growl, Ichigo snarled out "Why you!"

Again and again, the two fighters' blades clashed with one another, with neither seemingly gaining the upper hand on the other. Pushing apart, the two stared one another down, with the quarter bobcat panting lightly.

"You've improved somewhat, Ichigo, since our last sparring session, but you're still not ready."

"Damn it, I told you this is the best I can do without Bankai!" the quarter demon hissed.

Vanishing before another word could be said to him, Kisuke reappeared behind the quarter demon and kicked him roughly, sending his opponent tumbling to the ground. Following up with a quick slash to the back of the quarter demon, which drew blood instantly, the blonde haired man violently kicked the falling quarter demon once more, this time in the ribs, sending him flying through a nearby rock pillar.

Walking calmly towards the remains of the rock, the blonde haired man suddenly came to a stop when he suddenly felt a very familiar demonic aura flaring from the rocks. Dust and debris suddenly flew up into the air, sending it scattering across the battlefield.

Standing up, the quarter demon kept his head bowed down while a cold smirk formed on his face. Seeing this, Kisuke calmly said "Well, well, about time this …"

"Uh, uh, uh, it's not polite to refer to someone as this." a voice said that sounded similar to the quarter demon's but was laced with what sounded like insanity in it. Raising his head to reveal a cold smirk and a partially formed white bone mask covering the left side of his face, he added "You idiot!"

Gripping the loose cloth on the hilt of his sword, the quarter demon began spinning the blade rapidly, causing a whirling sound to fill the air. Stopping the spinning suddenly as he had begun it, he dug the blade into the ground, causing light blue demonic aura to spill out from the impact.

"Looks like I get another chance to kill you." the crazed voice said.

Staring at the quarter demon with a calm gaze, the blonde haired man took in the change in the quarter bobcat's appearance. The white bone mask covered the entire left side of the bobcat's face, with a single yellow eye peering out from it. His other eye now had a black cornea with a yellow iris.

"So, you've returned to fight me again, eh? Feel like telling me who you are this time?"

Once more smirking evilly, the quarter demon asked "Who am I? How can you ask such a stupid question!? I am who I am!"

Still smirking, he added "You're not dealing with Ichigo anymore! That weakling doesn't even compare to me!"

"You're wrong, as always. How naïve."

"What was that!?" the insane filled voice demanded. "If you honestly think that weakling is stronger than me, then you've lost it!"

Raising his sword, the blonde haired man vanished. Sneering at this, the quarter demon let out an insane filled laugh and vanished himself also. The two reappeared soon enough, with their blades striking each others. Again and again, the two vanished, only to reappear for a moment with their blades clashing against one another.

After nearly twenty minutes of fighting, the pair reappeared with a distance of twelve feet separating them. The blonde haired man was slightly panting while sweat streaked down the sides of his face. Staring at his opponent with a cold smirk on his face, the quarter bobcat let out an insane laugh while charging towards the blonde haired man.

Nearly halfway across to him, the quarter bobcat suddenly stopped laughing as his right eye widened and his left hand suddenly reached up to grasp the edge of the white mask. The hand began yanking on the mask, making the quarter bobcat's jaw clench.

"You…" the insane voice grunted out. "No, you're going to interfere with me again!? You're too weak! Stop! If you chase me out right now, you'll die for sure! Don't you understand, you're not strong enough!"

Tugging on the mask even harder, the left hand of the quarter bobcat began to fully separate it from his face, causing dark light to pour out from under it. A light blue demonic aura began flaring around the quarter demon's body as suddenly a loud roaring voice began screaming. At the same time, the insane voice was growing weaker and weaker. With one final scream, the mask was ripped off, causing the insane filled voice to vanish while a loud yell came from the quarter demon's normal voice.

Panting heavily as the remains of the mask fell to the ground, the quarter demon slumped forward, but drove his cleaver blade into the ground to keep from falling. Looking up weakly at the blonde haired man, Ichigo let out a grunt "Good riddens to you…"

Smirking slightly, Kisuke approached the panting bobcat, saying "Well, well, it seems you managed to suppress him again. How many times does that make you, Ichigo? Is it six or seven?"

"It doesn't matter…" Ichigo grunted out in a winded voice. "He still comes out, whether I'm in my Bankai or Shikai. If this keeps up, I'll…"

"Don't worry so much." the blonde haired man commented nonchalantly. "I think you're finally ready to begin your true training. Gather up your things, Ichigo. We're hitting the road."

**Nice cliffy, don't you all agree? (/Notices a mob ready to kill him with pitchforks and torches.\) Uh, sorry? Lol, anyways, this isn't the end obviously. The truth is, **_**Reunion**_** was originally meant to be a one shot that my mate was going to write. Gradually over time, it became a joint venture between my mate and myself, but it soon evolved even further into a small story on it's own. My mate decided to hand it over to me to work on, so I took over and thus this story was born. Originally, when I finished **_**Another**_**, I had wanted to make a sequel, but **_**Reunion**_** was not the true sequel that I wanted to do. It was always looked upon as a short story, which it was (my shortest mind you, lol, which is a surprise). Now that **_**Reunion**_** is over, the true sequel is about to begin. In one month's time, I'll begin posting the true sequel, entitled **_**Descending Twilight**_**. It will take place five years after **_**Another**_** (4 and ½ after **_**Reunion**_**), and mostly deal with a variety of characters. There will be lots of new characters, some familiar ones, and ones you wish would just go curl up and die (I don't think I have any to be honest, lol). At any rate, I will let everyone know when I begin posting **_**Descending Twilight**_**. I'm thinking it'll be the middle of January most likely before I begin posting, but we'll see. Most likely, it won't be as long as **_**Another**_**, but it'll be longer than **_**Reunion**_**. Anyways, till then, everyone take care and have a Merry Christmas and happy New Year!**


End file.
